LASU Students Rejects Government Tuition Fees Reduction Plan

Posted by African Examiner education, Latest Headlines, News Thursday, June 12th, 2014

Jacob Oyewale

Students of the Lagos State University (LASU) on Thursday insisted the Lagos state government must reduce their school fees by 67percent.

The students therefore rejected the offer of the Lagos State Government to reduce some fees by percentage points, depending on the faculty or department.

The president, LASU Student Union, Comrade Nurudeen Yusuf Temilola made the position of students known while addressing press conference in the school premises on Thursday.

Temilola described the hike in the first place as “satanic, inhumane and ridiculous”. LASU Students Union President noted that Lagos state government made no reference to percentages when it was imposing the hike, it has chosen a spurious regime of percentages for reducing it.

He said the offer to reduce on varying percentages was unacceptable to the students, noting that the Government had announced the hike in specific “Naira and kobo terms” when it was increasing the tuition, and that parents who sell common items such as pepper and foodstuff to pay school fees do not understand the loose percentages.

He added, “The Government is trying to play joker on our future, destiny and posterity of the State” Temilola said the students had cause to doubt the sincerity of the government led by Mr. Babatunde Fashola, stating that the hike was anchored on a selective adoption of the recommendations of the governor’s visitation panel.

The union said they want the government to announce a specific amount across the board. The Students Union leader disclosed that the LASU Students Union recommended to the government that fresh students should pay N65,000 while returning students should pay N46,500 across the board.

The SUG said the government ignored those recommendations only to come up later with its unacceptable percentage options, and that they regard the government’s threats and actions to be a violation of their rights.

The students vow to continue their protests until their demands are fully met, whiling calling on Governor Fashola and the Police Force to tender an apology for ordering or implementing a violent attack on them during their protests.

They described the police attack on their protest on June 2 in Oshodi as a reminder of the “dark military days”. They also declared Governor Fashola as bringing his government into disrepute by his June 10 order to the police to shoot at them in front of his office.