According to sahara reporters, a coalition of students’ organisations under the umbrella of Save TASUED and Fund Education Coalition (STAFEC) has declared Monday, February 6, for a mass protest in Abeokuta, Ogun State, against what they described as the continued neglect of education, and particularly the tertiary education subsector, in the state.
The student bodies include the Tai Solarin Students’ Union, National Universities Education Students’ Association (NUESA), the Alliance of Nigerian Students against Neoliberal Attacks (ANSA).
In a statement issued at the weekend and signed by Sanni Ramon, Ewetola AbdulRamon, Sanyaolu Juwon, and Tomi Aina on behalf of Tai Solarin Students’ Union, NUESA, ANSA and Students’ and Youth Activists Support Initiative respectively, they condemned the fee hike at the Tai Solarin University of Education and other higher education institutions across the state.
The statement said the mass action will be aimed at expressing the displeasure of the students towards the premeditated neglect of public education, especially at TASUED.
“We take exception to the illegal and arbitrary tax of N10,000 imposed on students and we reject in totality, the increment in acceptance fee from N30, 000 to N40, 000,” the students said. “The coalition maintains an outright rejection of the introduction of N25,000 registration fee; we consider it as fraudulent, thoughtless and unacceptable especially at the time the same students and their unpaid parents barely manage to pay the exorbitant N76,500 school fees, astronomical acceptance fee and many other ridiculous charges.”
They noted that neither the Tai Solarin University nor the Olabisi Onabanjo University at Ago-Iwoye, have received subventions from the state government for over 20 months, adding that salaries of workers are not paid in full, which leads to poor commitment of staff to work.
“The astronomical school fees of TASUED, the increase in the charges of vocational studies (subsequently and fraudulently disguised as registration fee) from N1000 to N25,000, the imposition of N20,000 as penalty for late submission of clearance file and the despotic increment of acceptance fee from N30,000 to N40,000; are few of the many anti-poor/student policies incited by government unacceptable neglect of the institution,” the statement added.
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