Authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, on Thursday, announced further reduction in the tuition fees payable by students of
institution, just as it urged undergraduates to exhibit discipline and commitment to their academic
programmes.

Authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, on Thursday, announced further reduction in the tuition fees payable by students of institution, just as it urged undergraduates to exhibit discipline and commitment to their academic programmes.

In a press release signed by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the institution, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, the slash in tuition fees was attributed to the magnanimity of the management, under the leadership of the vice chancellor, Professor Bamitale Omole.

According to the release, “in a rare show of administrative magnanimity in university management, Professor Bamitale Omole has, again, proved that he runs an open and compassionate administration by graciously reducing the charges payable by the students of the OAU, Ile-Ife.”

The release added that “the reduction is sequel to the appeals from various stakeholders and the meetings held with the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone D South-West, the Students’ Union leadership of Obafemi Awolowo University and other students’ stakeholders within and outside the university.”

With the newly reduced charges, returning undergraduates in Law, Arts, Social Sciences, Administration and Education (Arts) will now be paying N19, 700.

“Those in Science, Administration, Education (Science), Technology and Agriculture will now pay N27,700, while students in Medicine, Dentistry, Medical Rehabilitation, Nursing and Pharmacy will now pay N30,700,” the release added.

diarisgod: z

Nigerians, irrespective of their financial status, believe it is mandatory for the government to make sure that tertiary education is free and of high quality. [size=13pt]Yet, a lot of these Nigerians, especially from the middle class upwards pay more in primary and secondary school fees than in university tuition. Like a friend of mine put it, it is only in Nigeria that a parent will willingly pay N150, 000 per term for his child in secondary school; yet he wants to pay just N30, 000 annually in university and expect high quality.[/size] According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, an estimated $3billion leaves our shores annually to pay for university tuition abroad. I believe that if our own schools were of quality and tuition-paying, these monies would go to making our schools better. It would also enable the schools extend more opportunities to those who are more indigent.

Will this make less people able to afford tertiary education? Possibly. But the consolation that goes with it is that those who do go to school will be receiving quality education, which they can apply to create opportunities in our economy.[size=15pt] The target for education should be more about quality than quantity. As much as it is important that everyone who desires to attend a tertiary education does, it is even more important that those who do presently get the best possible. If we have to make a compromise between the two, we should sacrifice quantity of graduates for the quality of the graduates. But we should also improve the quality of public basic education that one does not have to have tertiary education in order make it in our country. [/size]We should make the system so good that we can have our own Richard Bransons, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs who all have gone on to be world-changers despite not having university degrees, but public basic education in their countries.

Mark Amaza....rich kid,poor kid....the fallacy of education subsidies in Nigeria