By Cross Udo, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu yesterday promised to intervene in the arbitrary hike in school fees in tertiary institutions and make the contentious fee increase a thing of the past.
The President has also directed that students in vocational training institutions should be included in assessing student loans expected to commence in a few weeks.
These were disclosed by the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Lucky Emonefe, while speaking to journalists after leading a delegation of the students’ body to visit the President at the State House, Abuja.
Emonefe said that the delegation visited President Tinubu with some demands which included the delay in the implementation of the student loan, which was initially scheduled to take off from January 2024, the hardship being faced by Nigerian students as a result of the economic meltdown, and the hike in school fees by the management of various institutions in the country.
The NANS President said the President assured that he would wade into the fee hike to ensure that the arbitrary increase becomes a thing of the past.
According to him, “The leadership of NANS, led by my humble self, came to pay a visit to Mr. President, to see him, as the father of this country. So I led the delegation to visit him. We came, first, to thank him for the various educational policies that he has introduced; first is the student loan, he’s a lover of education and education is the bedrock.
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“He equally released funds for intervention; UBEC and TETFund, given to students, because that is the development of infrastructure. So we came in to thank Mr. President.
“It does not end there, the yearnings and the aspirations of Nigerian students, I came in to table them before Mr. President, including issues of hike in school fees and various other challenges; high cost of living for Nigerian students, what they are passing through, as a father who listens.
“I came to relate these things to Mr President and Mr President is accessible, he listened to us and he promised us he’s going to look into that, that he’s going to include more youths in his government, that we are the future leaders.
“He specifically said that he wants the student loan to work so that those who don’t have access to education, that education is a right. So that is our reason for visiting. Mr President and we know things will turn around for the better, soonest.
“So we’re conveying the message back to our students, that Mr. President will look into the challenges they are facing in various higher institutions and those higher institutions that are increasing school fees will put an end to it. So it is the challenge that Nigerian students are facing, we believe that the school fees hike will be a thing of the past.”
Asked whether he got any assurances from the President on the ultimatum the student body issued to the government over the high cost of living and the complaint that the student loan didn’t take off in January as planned, he said that Tinubu explained the reason behind the delay in the taking-off of the loan.
He said, “On the issue of the student loan, the little delay was the expansion. Mr. President expanded it for the inclusion of some vocational training, which is highly commendable.
“In one or two weeks from now, the launching of the student loan will begin, that is as for the student loan, all steps have been put in place to commence it immediately and Mr. President will launch that. He has equally promised to include students in the process.
“On the issue of the hardship that we’re facing, Mr President didn’t give a specific time, but he said things will turn around soon and students will start feeling it. I think that was the response.”
