By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), North East Region has described the sudden increase in students’ registration and school fees upward by 150% or 200% as a complete threat to students educational rights.
The Vice President of NANS , Comrade Suleiman Muhammad Sarki, stated this on Thursday during a press conference held at the NUJ Press Center Maiduguri.
Comrade Sarki added that the increase in the students’ payments are unacceptable and clear indexes that cou;d instigate the conscription of students into Boko Haram insurgents, kidnappers, bandits and thieves.
He also called on Nigerian elites, educational stakeholders, community, religious, traditional , women, youths and students leaders to intervene before the situation goes out of hand.
He further threatened that NANS will not hesitate to embark on two weeks warning strike before embarking on nation wide massive protest across the country.
He said: “If the Nigerian universities are allowed to go ahead with their school registration fees increment threats, with the biting economic recession and collapse of the nations education system couple with the ASUU and NASU strikes, the whole issue is uncalled for and unnecessary.
“Nigerian Students are shocked, surprised and condemned in totality the sudden increases of registration fees and other charges the Nigerian universities have introduced just about 8 months to the ASUU long strike which was recently called off.
He explained that the universities are claiming that the school facilities are decayed and becoming obsolete for the students and lecturers teaching and learning materials without government interventions which received unanimous resolutions of various Governing Council .
”As students’ leaders and advocate of qualitative education, we are worried on the level of government’s insincerity to give the needed priority to the nation’s education at all levels.
”The standard of education continues to go down due to the insensitivity of government and the inability to provide conducive teaching, learning, and working environment through lack of basic facilities that would make them compete with their peers in other parts of Africa not even globally.
”However, we shall continue to express our displeasure on any registration charges increment by the universities, due to the fact that, it is not only capitalistic in tone which thousands of returning students cannot afford, but also an attempt to further deny Nigerian citizens access to education especially, in Northeast region,’ Suleiman said.
He also asserted that the increment may undoubtedly affect the ongoing peace building process in the zone at this critical time of hardship on Nigerians by a sadistic government at the federal level, stressing that, increment of any magnitude of the registration charges increment will definitely lead to a huge number of school drop outs across the country.
”We tag this as alarming threats that needs an urgent response and intervention of all especially in the northeast.
”The recent hike in registration charges by some Nigerian universities does not only come to us as a surprise but as an affront to the war against insurgency, banditry and kidnapping, such that students who are unable to pay the new fee might end up becoming drop outs and this will add to the rising number of youth restiveness in the Nigeria.
”This may also in return increase the number of insurgents, bandits and kidnappers with fresh and dangerous intellectual school dropout due to university registration charges increment that they cannot afford.I, as a returning student from one of Universities in Northeast, ‘ The Vice President added.
”By so doing, many students, God forbid, many students may tempted to aggressively and angrily join the team of insurgents, bandits or kidnappers.As such, I want to let the whole world know before it is too late, that thousands of Nigerian university students may end up joining one of the above mentioned criminal sects,
”if government did not intervene to rescind the universities’ governing councils on the charges increment.At this gesture, we are calling and urging the tycoons around the globe and international communities, to please rescue our universities from being collapsed, as the Nigerian government has no intention to prioritize the nation’s education.
‘;We implore all Universities students not to proceed on the payment of the new registration charges and await the outcome of NANS strategic action plan, may we call across the country on all elderly statesmen, relevant stakeholders in the educational sector, traditional leaders, ulamas and priests to please intervene by prevailing on the Governing Council of all Nigerian Universities especially in Northeast zone to rescind their decision ,’ Sarki said.
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