By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Some aggrieved student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has planned to stage a protest against the school fees hike on the 6th of September 2023.
This was made known in a press statement issued on Saturday by STUDENTS SOLIDARITY GROUP AGAINST FEE HIKE.
The students said, “it has become imperative to inform the public of mass protests against fee hike scheduled to start on September 6, 2023, as all Nigerian students, parents, civil society organizations, informal workers, are set to hit the streets to say enough of untold hardship meted on us.”
Our argument remains that the responsibility of funding public education can not be shifted to poor students and their parents even in a draining economy such as this. We also maintain that the decision taken by the UNILAG Management, supervised by their employers, remains authoritarian, illogical and economically inconsiderate.
It is also important to state that after engaging in a discussion, and for over 4 weeks, the UNILAG Management has failed in its promise to reconvene the meeting with the student delegation.We are civil and we believe that our civility should be reciprocated with respect, especially from people saddled with the responsibility of serving the public.
The Statement reveals further that the social consequences of this menace at our door steps can not be overemphasized. If allowed to stand, many of our colleagues will drop out, says the survey we conducted. Dreams will be shattered. The social inequality gap will be widened by this inhumane action. Those who will manage not to drop out of school, will drop out of class, i.e- they won’t stay in class, as the fee hike will push everyone to become compulsory hustlers. Lecturers will justifiably sell “hand-outs” openly and bribes for grades will become the order of the day. Cases of sexual harassment for grades will also increase as students who do not stay in class will have to find unwholesome means to “excel” academically.
Our lecturers, some of whom are postgraduate students, including those who are sponsors (parents/guardians) to many students would not be able to afford these fees. For example, a lecturer (earning a salary of 200,000) who has 2 children in UNILAG will be forced to pay a minimum of 1 million Naira as obligatory and accommodation fees. This is to say our lecturers won’t be able to afford the service they provide. An economy where workers are paid minimum wage of 30,000 has no business with public school fees of over 300,000.
“All these social consequences are pointing to a sharp decline in the quality of education in our schools, as against the propaganda of the government and the management. We say No to the privatization and commercialization of education through the backdoor- the student loan scheme”,Statement reveals.
To this end,education especially in a developing country, must not be reduced to a profit-making venture for private profiteers.We therefore call on every Nigerian to join the struggle for the survival of public education, to mobilize and march on the streets with us as we put an end to added suffering, starting from September 6, 2023.
The protests will be comprehensive and total until fees are reverted.