• Niger State House of Assembly in rowdy session as Campaign for Democracy, parents condemn govt. decision to increase school fees in state-owned tertiary institutions

John Adams, Minna

Education, they say, is the most important instrument for effecting positive social, political and economic changes in any soc

iety; it is the bedrock of any development, for, without it, no meaningful development can be achieved.

It is often said that anyone who thinks that education is expensive, should try ignorance or illiteracy, and the consequences, of course, are what the society cannot cope with. Education remains the greatest legacy a generation can bequeath to the upcoming ones and that is why good government all over the world strive to provide, not only qualitative but affordable education to its citizens

No amount invested in education by either individuals or government can be said to be too much. It is as a result of these reasons that every successful government, in the country, at all levels, have continued to fashion out various means to make education not a reality but readily available.

Education in Niger State, then and now

When looked at from that angle, the past administration of Niger State, under Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, could be said to have tried to uplift the standard of education in the state with the formation of some policies and programmes, one of which is his free education programme.

Then Aliyu, worried by the decline in the enrolment figure of children into both primary and post-primary schools in the state, in 2007 declared free education at the two levels. But it greatly shot up school enrolment in the state from 400,000 to over one million.

The government did not stop at that; it went ahead to abolish the dichotomy that existed in the payment of school fees between the indigenous and non-indigenous students at all levels of education.

The administration also took over the payment of both NECO and WAEC fees for all students, regardless of their state of origin. All these measures were aimed at encouraging the development of education in the state and the north in general.

However, obviously owing to lack of funds, the present administration of Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello was to abolish all that within two years of coming to power and this has posed a cause for great concern. It has generated reactions not only from members of the public and stakeholders but also from lawmakers in the state house of assembly.

Right now, the members are sharply divided over the recent tuition hike by the state government for all state-owned tertiary institutions. The debate over it recently led to a rowdy session among the lawmakers.

While some members are of the view that the new tuition is on the high side and will add more burdens on parents, considering the current economic hardship in the country, others argued that any reduction of fees being charged by the government will affect the quality of education being offered in the state.

According to a source close to the state ministry of education, the new fees being charged by the state-owned tertiary institutions range from N80, 000 to N90, 000 for indigenous students while non-indigenes are expected to pay between N100, 000 and N120, 000 depending on the institution.

This is against the N20, 000 hitherto charged by these institutions and paid by all students without any discrimination. This decision by the government has attracted sharp criticisms from members of the public who describe the action as a sign of its insensitivity to the plights of parents in the state. It has also attracted reactions from members of the state house of assembly as to divide them into for-and-against camps when the matter was brought before it at the plenary.

Lawmakers’ views on the matter

In a motion sponsored by Hon. Nura Garba, member representing Kontagora 11 constituency, he called on the executive arm to reduce the tuition for the state indigenes in all the state-owned tertiary institutions. The member noted that there is need for the house to prevail on the executive to consider the hardship being faced by Nigerians, pointing out that any further increase in the tuition will compound the economic woes of the people.

He explained that it has become necessary for the house to take a unanimous decision on the issue in view of the complaints and criticisms that have trailed the increase, stressing that, “as representatives of the people, and coupled with the prevailing economic situation, the fees charged by these tertiary institutions has become a big burden to parents and guardians of the students, hence the need to impress it on the government and other concerned authorities to look into the issue with a view to reducing it.”

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He disclosed that the current tuition is the highest when compared with fees being paid in states like Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and indeed, other northern states where such fees are pegged at N30, 000 for citizens of such states.

The motion was supported by Hon. John Paul Bahago, member representing Munya Constituency. He urged his colleagues to support the motion in order to reduce the financial burdens on parents who are mostly from poor homes.

Also speaking in favour of the motion, member representing Bida 1 Constituency, Hon. Kasim Bako Alfa, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Education, Science and Technology, stressed the need for the state government to fashion out a standard uniform school fees to be charged by all tertiary institutions in the state taking into consideration, the prevailing economic situation in the state and the country at large.

But Hon. Abdullahi Adamu Mammagi, Chairman House Committee on Finance and member representing Gbako constituency, disagreed with his colleagues, saying that any reduction in the tuition will affect the quality of education in the state.

He cited example with the state-owned Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida  University (IBBU), Lapai, where, according to him, the tuition hitherto paid by the students is seriously hampering the quality of services being offered by the institution.

According to him, any reduction in the school fees payable, which is intended to improve on the provision of infrastructures in the schools, will not augur well for the development of education in the state. “It is obvious that government alone cannot adequately provide for all expenditures, because of the dwindling resources and competing demand in other sectors of the state,” he noted.

Rather than reducing the fees, he suggested that the state government be encouraged to increase the scholarship money paid to students in such institutions, to ameliorate the challenges likely to be faced by indigent but brilliant students when the new fees take effect.

Also speaking in favour of the new fees, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Hussaini Ibrahim urged his colleagues to acknowledge that investigation has shown that the tuition being charged in the state is one of the lowest in the whole of north central states. He therefore called on his colleagues to allow the new fees to stay.

Speaking further, he threw his weight behind the call by one of his colleagues to ask the state government to increase scholarship allowances to all students in the state tertiary institutions instead of the proposed downward review of the current charges introduced by the government.

The Speaker of House directive and stakeholders’ viewpoints

At the end of the rowdy debate, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Ahmed Marafa Guni, directed the House Committee on Education, Science and Technology to invite relevant stakeholders to make their inputs on the matter and to report back to the House within two weeks for further legislative action.

Reacting to this development, the Chairman, Campaign for Democracy (CD) Niger State, Abdullahi Jabi, said that decision of the government is like taking one step forward and ten steps backward in the area of education development not only in the state but in the entire north.

“This is a bad policy summersault and a bad decision on the part of the APC government in the state,” he said. “APC is a progressive party and as such, should be seen to be progressive in its decisions, especially as it affects education in the north which should be given well-deserved attention.

“When attention is given to education, the crisis we are envisaging from the social sector, like almajiri phenomenon will be addressed. I think as a matter of priority and as embedded in the party philosophy, this decision should be reversed in the interest of educational development in the north.”

According to him, the decision will cause more harm than good, regardless of whatever reason that must have informed it, adding that, “education is a critical sector that must not be politicized. This is where future leaders of tomorrow are built, so any government that failed to get it right in this sector is bound to face multiple problems.”

Abdul Mamman Shehu, a retired school principal from one of the state public schools, described the increase as a setback for educational development in the state, especially when it is obvious that the state is already lacking behind in education.

He maintained that the decision was an unpopular one and therefore advised the government to take a second look at the increase because it will further discourage the level of school enrolment.

“In addition to this, I strongly believe that this is a wrong timing for the increase in view of the current economic situation in the country,” he said. “No sensitive government should embark on this kind of unpopular policy at this material time.”

Attempts by our correspondent to reach the state commissioner for education, Hajiya Ramatu Madugu, for comments on why the government decided to increase the tuition and on the reason for the discrimination in the payment of the fees, could not yield any result as the commissioner directed him to the permanent secretary in the ministry.

But he could not get to meet him in office after two attempts. He was told by one of his staff that the commissioner and the permanent secretary had all traveled out of the country.