Traffic was virtually brought to a standstill as a result of the protest. Commuters on the busy international highway were stranded as they resorted to trekking to their various destinations. Two police vehicles loaded with armed policemen were stationed close to the gate of the university along expressway. There was however, no confrontation as the students were peaceful in their protest.
The management of Lagos State University, LASU, Ojo, announced a 725 per cent increase in the school fees to be paid by the 2011/2012 fresh students. This was contained in a document titled: “Government’s View on the Report of the Visitation Panel to Lagos State University,” released in September, 2011.
It read thus: “In view of the enormous financial commitment required to run a university viz-a-viz other competing demands in the public sector, government accepts the recommendation to increase tuition fees. Government directs that the new tuition fees shall not be applied retroactively as current students are exempted from the increase. The new tuition fees will take effect from 2011/2012 academic session.”
More so, the document has it that prospective students of Arts/Education are to pay (N193,750); Social and Management Sciences (N223,750); Law (N248,750). In the document, Communication/Transport, Sciences, Engineering and College of Medicine are respectively to pay (N238,750,), N258,750), (N298,750) and (N348,750) as against present fees which ranges between N25,000 and N62,500.
However, making up this sordidly outrageous increment are illegal and unjustified fees such as N15,000 for Teaching Practice/Field Trip, N50,000 for Moot Court Fee for Law students, N2,500 for General Studies, N10,000 for Caution Fee, N20,000 for Acceptance Fee, N10,000 for Registration Fee and a host of others.
The Lagos State government, having reached this conclusion on school fees increment using the premise of the Visitation Panel recommendations, the question remains: Is the increment a lasting panacea for LASU’s inherent problems?
Another question which emanates is: What is expected of the Lagos State University Students’ Union executives and the over 70,001 LASU-ites now that the increment is no longer a gain saying?
Howbeit, before answers could be provided to these questions, the fact remains that it was not only an increment in school fees that the visitation panel set-up by the state government in 2009 recommended.
According to reports, the panel having made their investigations also recommended revamping the university’s system bedeviled with incessant industrial strike actions and other related issues.
Academic activities
That Prof. Lateef Hussein, the former Vice-Chancellor is made to embark on a compulsory annual leave to quell the situation on ground then, which saw academic activities shut down with the industrial actions by academic and non-academic staff. That admission of fresh students into LASU’s External/Satellite campuses is forthwith embargoed.
That there should be an increase in the Budgetary Allocation to the University using the UNESCO benchmark of a minimum of 26 per cent of Annual Budget of the State to be expended on education.
Interestingly, the first two of these recommendations had been implemented by the Fashola-led administration as Prof. Lateef Hussein is no longer in the system, admission into LASU Part-time programmes embargoed till further notice.
But ironically, the Lagos State can government is only quick and hell-bent to implementing the colossal increment which suits it best? No doubt, that apart from the incessant strike actions that had bedeviled the school in the past, other underlying issues include:
Not enough lecture theaters, in spite of the spatial land area in the university. Some critics have termed the school “University of Vegetable”, because the mass land area is used by subsistence farmers to cultivate vegetables.
Also, the available few lecture theaters are overcrowded during lectures; they also have leaking roofs preventing their use even during light downpour. Bad roads leading to lecture rooms and around the school usually flooded whenever it rains.
Insufficient academic staff strength which among other issues led to the NUC de-accrediation of some major courses offered in the university, viz-Law, Chemical & Polymer Engineering, Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Accounting, Business Administration, Marketing, management Technology and Banking & Finance. Discrepancies in LASU admission among other issues.
Education Vanguard talked with the students’ union leadership. Excerpts of the interview:
What is the motive of this protest?
The motive is to stop the increment of school fees. The government is so clever by saying the returning students, that is the staylites will not pay, but that the new intake are going to pay it.
The school fees which was N25,000 has been increased to the least N193,750.000 for Faculty of Education and Faculty of Law respectively which is over 725 per cent increase. The N25,000 they have been collecting was not used judiciously and government cannot account for it. The students believe it is an act of corruption.
You are not fighting, so why must the police be around?
Yes we are not fighting.
Have you been shot?
The police have not shot yet. Let Fashola maintain the statusquo and let us continue to pay our money. We are still paying the N25,000 instalmentally, N15,000, N10,000, respectively now they are increasing it to N193,050, N233,000, N248,000 and the highest is N350,000 for College of Medicine.
Before now, have you put in your complaint before the school management?
Yes we made consultation with them but what they are saying is that they have been given a directive by the state government to implement it to the letter. That is their position.
Unilateral decision
The students believe they need to maintain the statusquo and if they want to increase the school fees, they have to sit down round a table and cannot take decision unilterally without informing the appropriate people. We are the ones to pay, we are the end users. Can you believe a class for 50 students is being used by 150 students!
Who is to be blamed on this particular issue?
We believe the state government is to be blamed because it is a public school. The school is not developed to an extent and is being compared to state universities like Ahmadu Bello University and other state universities. Hon. Azeez Olawale, the 22nd Speaker of Lagos State Student Parliamentary Council said: “It is not a riot, it is a protest, the reason behind our protest is the unjust increment of school fees from N25,000 to N450,000.”
You mean it?
Yes, from N25,000 to N250,000, from N35,000 to N250,000 which is unjust, unbearable, satanic to human existence. That is the essence of it and if you increase anything, there should be facilities for ready satisfaction. So if you want to do anything, you should have good reasons before you take a stand and Lagos State is taking a stand on that.
Increment without considering the fact and what is happening in LASU. No lecturers, no lecture room, no good road, no good shuttle, no hostel, no lab, no equipment and you want to increase the school fees. Although they say it is not going to concern the staylites but the fact is injury to all. We know Lagos State government is going to divide us.
Is the State government not making any subsidy for you?
At all, they are not making any subsidy, as the state university we are to be paying less than private university because the essence of establishing state university is to render service to humanity. It is not a profit making organisation, rather it is service rendering organisation. Action Congress of Lagos State government regards the increment as negating their manifesto, because in their manifesto, they are trying to let us know they are going to give free education to the masses.
But in its reaction, the university management warned the students saying it has vowed not to take it kindly with any student, group of students or union that would want to visit mayhem on Lagos State University.
“The State Government, corporate organisations and private individuals have instituted various scholarship schemes and bursary awards to mitigate impact of the hike in fees on students of Lagos State origin, indigent (poor) students, students from other states and students with outstanding academic performance,” the management said.
It warned that any student apprehended disrupting the peace of Lagos State University (LASU) or would want to scuttle the on-going progress and development in the university would be treated individually by the law enforcement agents.
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