By Stella Odueme
The House of Representatives has called for the suspension and comprehensive review of tuition fees and other charges in public tertiary institutions across Nigeria amid concerns over sharp increases that could deny many students access to higher education.
The resolution followed a motion moved by Hon. Ifeoluwa Babajide Ehindero, representing Akoko North-East/Akoko North-West Federal Constituency, during a plenary.
According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Blessing James Akeju, on Wednesday, Ehindero expressed concern over reports that some public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education had increased their fees by more than 100 per cent, warning that the development could worsen the financial burden on students and their families, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He stressed the need for government and institutional authorities to ensure that the cost of higher education remained affordable while addressing the financial challenges confronting public tertiary institutions.
The lawmaker cited Section 18 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which directs government policy towards providing equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.
He also highlighted the role of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) in providing interest-free loans to eligible students to reduce financial barriers to tertiary education.
According to him, substantial increases in institutional charges could undermine the effectiveness of student-loan interventions, especially where existing funding benchmarks and institutional cost structures do not adequately reflect the new fees.
“Access to higher education should not become increasingly difficult for Nigerian students because of sudden and substantial increases in institutional charges. While we recognise the financial pressures facing our institutions, there must be a careful balance between institutional sustainability and the ability of ordinary Nigerian families to afford education,” Ehindero said.
He argued that although public tertiary institutions required adequate funding to operate effectively, fee adjustments should be undertaken transparently and with due consideration for prevailing economic conditions.
The lawmaker further warned that steep increases in charges could weaken the objectives of NELFUND by leaving students unable to meet financial obligations beyond the assistance available to them.
“Student financing initiatives such as NELFUND are intended to reduce financial barriers to education. However, when charges rise sharply without adequate consideration of students’ circumstances, the very objective of widening access to higher education may be weakened. We must ensure that students are not pushed out of school because their families can no longer meet the cost,” he said.
Ehindero maintained that addressing the situation required sustained collaboration among the Federal Government, regulatory agencies, institutional managements and other stakeholders.
He emphasised that the objective was not to disregard the financial needs of tertiary institutions but to ensure that fee policies were transparent, justified and responsive to the economic realities of students and their families.
Following consideration of the motion, the House urged the Federal Government to increase financial subventions to public tertiary institutions to reduce their dependence on student charges as a major source of internally generated revenue.
The lawmakers also urged the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to engage the managements of public tertiary institutions to suspend fee increases and undertake a comprehensive review of tuition structures in line with prevailing economic realities.
Furthermore, the House mandated the relevant committees on University Education, Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, and Federal Colleges of Education to investigate the extent of recent fee increases and determine the justification for the adjustments.
The motion was subsequently referred to the relevant House committees for further legislative action.