Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, on Tuesday, held a meeting with heads of regulatory agencies in the education sector over an alleged hike in school fees in some tertiary institutions.

In attendance at the meeting held in Abuja were the Executive Secretaries of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, and that of the National Commission for Colleges of Education, Prof.Paulinus Chijoke Okwelle.

Also in attendance was Hajia Bilkisu Salihijo Ahmad, who represented the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

Lawan in his opening remarks said he convened the meeting to have a piece of first-hand information on an issue that could cause a crisis in the education sector if not quickly addressed.

Lawan said students had drawn his attention to a planned hike in school fees in some tertiary institutions during his earlier engagement with the student’s arm of Coalition of Northern Groups.

“We felt that we actually owe it a duty to listen to our students and of course also hear from you because we need to establish beyond reasonable doubt what the situation is.

“Whatever situations we find ourselves in, we must not do anything that will jeopardize the position of our students particularly at a time that is so difficult.

“We understand that our tertiary institutions have a need for more resources but we equally understand that our students are mostly from very poor backgrounds.

“We must do everything possible to protect those who are so vulnerable. The finances for their education must never be hurdles between them and actualizing their dreams”, Lawan said.

He said there was the need for the stakeholders to the true situation of the alleged increases and take appropriate measures to address it.

“This is because you represent the supervising bodies of our tertiary institutions, we felt that we should start with you; listen to you and then we can now find a way out of this,” he said.

Responding on behalf of his colleagues, Rasheed commended the Lawan for his timely intervention.

“Your concern is shared by all of us. It will, at this point, be difficult to know exactly which universities are violating the rules.

“But after this meeting, we shall consult all the universities with a template to complete and tell us exactly what charges they have.

“We understand that the universities cannot be forced to charge uniform fees across the country because they have different demands and they come from different situations.

“Possibly a university in Lagos or Port Harcourt may charge slightly more than Universities in some rural areas, but there should be a baseline,” he said.

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According to him, one university cannot charge N20,000 while the other charges N150,000.

“We are happy that you have now raised this alarm on time and will go back immediately, consult Vice Chancellors.

“If possible we shall bring them to a meeting to discuss whatever resolution we arrive at the end of this meeting,” Rasheed said.