The gubernatorial candidate of Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the 2019 election in Oyo State, Engr. Oyedele Hakeem Alao, has described the increment in tuition fees of students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso as callous and insensitive aimed at impoverishing the people.
Students of the institution had last week received text messages notifying them that the tuition has increased from N65,000 to N250,000.
In a statement signed by Lekan Salawu, the Head of Policy and Strategy, Oyedele Hakeem Alao Campaign Organisation, the governorship candidate lamented the spate of obnoxious policies of APC-led government in the states, saying such action in unprogressive.
“It is sad seeing students dropping out of school because of insensitivity of government. The government that found it difficult to improve the economy has no business pushing its incompetence to the masses.
“It is disheartening to see the APC governments of Oyo and Osun aiming to commercialize the educational sector of the respective states. If it is not callousness, how can one describe a situation whereby a student is being asked to pay between two hundred thousand to two hundred and fifty thousand Naira in a government-owned institution?
“Our party, Alliance for Democracy (AD), has always maintained that the more education is underfunded, the more the problems in the larger society. It is the responsibility of government to fund education and healthcare to an affordable level and once government abdicate such responsibilities, the already impoverished masses should not bear the brunt.
The statement called on Oyo and Osun state government to publish the cost of running LAUTECH per annum.