By Damilare Adeleye
President Bola Tinubu has directed authorities of the various federal tertiary institutions across the country to avoid any arbitrary increase in sundry fees payable by students.
This is even coming as the President ordered that buses should be made available for student bodies of all universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education across the country to ease the movement of the students and ensure no student misses classes due to the challenges of transportation.
According to a statement released on Monday signed by Mr. Dele Alake, Spokesperson to the President said the development was to bring relief to students amidst prevailing economic situation in the country.
“The desire of the President is to see that students can access their campuses without much difficulty as a result of higher transportation costs.
“The provision of the buses will also remove the burden of additional cost of daily commuting on parents and guardians.
“In line with his promise to ensure no Nigerian student abandons his or her educational pursuits as a result of lack of money and economic circumstances of their parents, President Tinubu has also approved the removal of all restrictions on the students’ loan to make it available to any student or household that may desire it,” the statement read in parts.
The President also cautioned the leadership of tertiary institutions of learning against any arbitrary increase in fees and charges, saying pay that if possible, any form of increase should be suspended for the time being.
Alake noted that President Tinubu is working to ensure students also benefit from conditional cash transfers and food distribution to mitigate the challenges of the current time.
“Similarly, President Tinubu has directed the authorities in all Federal Institutions of higher learning to avoid arbitrary increase in sundry fees payable and where possible defer further increase so that parents and students don’t face too many difficulties.”
“While it is important to reiterate that President Tinubu has directed release of over 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains to families in 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the government is working to ensure that vulnerable students can also benefit from conditional cash transfers and food distribution.
“The Federal Government salutes the courage, wisdom and partnership of Nigerian Students as our country navigates this challenging time.
“President Tinubu will continue to prioritise education and the needs of the students, improve welfare of teaching and non-academic staff and invest in infrastructure to make our institutions of higher learning become more globally competitive,” the statement added.