The continual increment of tuition fees by public universities in Nigeria has no doubt played a prodigious role in making lots of Adamawa youth drop out of school, thereby making them a catastrophe to society and the nation’s development.
Over the years, Adamawa State’s students have continued to face lots of issues concerning scholarships to aid their educational journey, until fortune decided to smile at us through the current Adamawa State governor, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who finally provided scholarships to students. That was indeed commendable, as we lauded your efforts and the unwavering concern you had for us.
Education plays a pivotal role in our societies as it gives people a chance to mould themselves into more responsible members of society.
Although the appreciation we have for you still lingers, I would like to draw your attention to many facts that need to be considered.
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The support provided by you today falls short of meeting the rising costs of tuition and living standards, as many Adamawa students, especially in federal institutions, are now paying tuition in the hundreds of thousands.
However, the case of Adamawa medical students is just pathetic as much needs to be done. This is because most states consider medical students as civil servants to facilitate their academic journey.
Other states like Borno, Yobe, and many others, are seriously considering their students amid the recent high increase in tuition, which makes most of the Adamawa students on campuses feel less considered by our state government.
To stand out as we always do, we need the governor to do more. I appeal to him to look into this issue as it will help to make college more accessible to Adamawa students, especially those from not-well-to-do families, and make our students compete on a level-playing field.
Fatima Abubakar Maidugu, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri
