Kaduna State government has reviewed the tuition fee for the State University (KASU) from N24, 000 and N26, 000 to as high as N150, 000 and for some, N500, 000, SaharaReporters reports.
According to a source, students – both indigenes and non-indigenes – are affected by the tuition hike.
He said, “The Kaduna State government reviewed tuition for the state university from N24,000 and N26,000 to N150,000 and N500,000, for indigenes and non-indigenes respectively.”
SaharaReporters observed from fee payment slips of students, that some paid about N100, 000 to the bank account of the Kaduna State school.
In June, the state government declared that the increase in the tuition of the university would not be reversed.
This was made known by the state Deputy Governor, Hadiza Balarabe, at a meeting of the representatives of the students with senior government officials at the Government House in Kaduna at the time.
According to a Government House statement issued after the meeting, Balarabe said the increase, though painful was necessary.
“It is the only way that the institution can stay afloat.
“We understand the pain; we are also pained but sometimes, some decisions are taken for the betterment of the generality of the people,” he said.
She explained that the hike is to enable the university to be a top-ranking university, and “we want you to be proud that you went to one of the best schools.
“We want Kaduna State students to hold their heads high wherever they might be and be proud to represent the state.’’
Balarabe stated further that the state government was spending about N5 billion on the university as the N26,000 being paid by students was not enough to pay lecturers for three months.
Also speaking during the meeting, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Malam Balarabe Lawal, pointed out that university education in the country is collapsing because of inadequate funding.
He said, “There are primary schools in the state that charge N100,000 as school fees. There are secondary schools that also charge as high as N500,000, and you expect university education to cost N27,000? It doesn’t make sense.”
The SSG further noted that: “For a long time, we have been deceiving ourselves. The earlier we wake up and come to term with the realization that we need to do something about university education in the state and in the country as a whole, the better.
“The standard of university degrees that are churned out in Nigeria is the lowest in the world.
“We send our children to Ghana, Uganda and Republic of Benin for education because our system is collapsing and there is no funding.”
At the time, the representatives of the students complained that the 500 per cent increase in the tuition fees was high, and requested that the increase should be reduced to 50 per cent.
He said, “We don’t want a total reversal, but a 50 per cent increase would be okay. At the old rate of N27, 000, not many students can afford it.”
On May 26, 2021, students staged a peaceful protest at the university campus, saying many of them could not afford the new tuition.
