The issue of payment of tuition fees in federal and state government-owned universities and other higher institutions in Nigeria is a sensitive subject. It is something people avoid talking about.
Government is afraid to touch it for the fear of uproar it might generate. Student union bodies, ASUU and others avoid it like the plague. As strong-willed as Olusegun Obasanjo was as Nigeria’s president, he also vehemently opposed the idea when he was advised to do so. Not because he didn’t know it was the right thing to do, but because he was afraid of the backlash.
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You can’t blame him. It was during his military-led regime that Dr Jibril Aminu, the then Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Universities Commission announced that students would pay extra fees due to the high cost of living in the country. This led to the famous ‘Ali must go’ protest.
Nigeria already has enough resources that can help students fund their education in government-owned universities and other higher institutions. The only missing link is the political will to do the right thing. The Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act, 2011 imposes a two per cent Education Tax on the profits of all registered companies operating in Nigeria. This is a lot of money that can go into funding loans, grants and scholarships for Nigerian students.
Since this fund is already in place by an act of parliament, a way out is to review the law by extending its objectives to providing loans, grants and scholarships for Nigerian students.
If students pay tuition, it will increase the money available to run our higher institutions and improve infrastructure and research in them. It will further entrench the principle of autonomy as each institution would be able to have greater control over its finances. Most importantly, it will force the people in government to think. They will have to create jobs for graduates to enable them to repay whatever loan they got to finance their education.
People in government will be forced to create a conducive environment for business to thrive. Job creation is a major political issue in the developed climes partly because people must keep repaying their loans for others to benefit.
The fact that students pay tuition does not mean government is handing off its responsibility of funding education. Rather, it will only increase the sources of revenue in our higher institutions. Students whose parents are rich enough to sponsor their education can do so.
Students from poor homes can have access to loans, grants and scholarships to reduce the burden of repayment. Brilliant students can have access to scholarships. This will stimulate intellectual competition. This is the funding pattern in many developed countries.
This is also likely to halt the unnecessary crave for paper certificate as students will carefully evaluate what they stand to gain before investing their time, energy and resources in a degree. Students who think they don’t need a degree to function in life can easily go for alternative studies – certifications, vocational studies, etc. This will reduce the burden of over subscription and over-enrolment on our higher institutions.
I think it is high time we reviewed our stand on payment of tuition in our higher institutions.
There are other areas that can be explored for funding loans and scholarships. Stakeholders in the education sector should begin to have a genuine conversation in this area.
ASUU and other unions, including student unions, should review their hard line stand on tuition in our higher institutions.
Abdullahi Adamu can be reached via [email protected]
