The House of Representatives has asked the federal government to order the suspension of fee increases in public tertiary institutions.
The green chamber passed the resolution during Tuesday’s
plenary following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Ifeoluwa Ehindero, an
All Progressives Congress (APC) member from Ondo state.
In recent months, several public institutions in the country
have raised their fees, prompting student protests.
Ehindero said the fee hikes could affect the Nigeria
Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme and access to higher education.
The lawmaker said education remained a cornerstone of
national development, citing section 18 of the 1999 constitution, which
provides for equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.
He told the parliament that the federal government
established NELFUND to provide eligible students with interest-free loans,
enabling them to access tertiary education without financial barriers.
The APC legislator said the loan scheme was designed around
existing tuition benchmarks and institutional cost structures, warning that
sudden, arbitrary fee increases could undermine its sustainability and
effectiveness.
He said some institutions implemented the hikes without
broad consultation or adequate consideration of the economic difficulties
confronting Nigerian families.
The lawmaker said unchecked fee increases could widen
disparities in access to education loans, disadvantage students from low-income
households and frustrate NELFUND’s objective of expanding access to higher
education.
“If not immediately addressed, it may lead to increased
student dropouts, campus unrest, and overall loss of public confidence in
government’s commitment to affordable education,” he said.
The motion was unanimously adopted when it was subjected to
a voice vote by Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house.
Consequently, lawmakers asked the federal government to
consider increasing subventions to public tertiary institutions to reduce their
dependence on internally generated revenue from student charges.
The lower legislative chamber mandated the committees on
university education, federal polytechnics and higher technical education, and
federal colleges of education to investigate the extent and justification for
recent fee increases across public tertiary institutions.
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