*_NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS _(NAUS)_*
_Association nationale des etudiants des Universities_
*Motto:* _Justice, Peace and Academic Excellence_

*PRESS RELEASE*
[b][/b]

Education is our right not a privilege: high tuition fee in the name of a better educational standard will prompt education to be a privilege in which only the rich will be able to acquire it. In 1977 the government of Nigeria declared that education is an instrument of national development, If cost of acquiring this instrument is a burden on the people of the country and only the rich are able to overcome it how then will the country develop? High tuition fee is not a determinant of better educational standard: Countries like France, Germany, Finland, Norway to mention but few have a better educational standard compared to our dear country, their tuition fee is low. Taking it to economic implications, in a country where the minimum wage is still N18,000 per month and an average Nigerian will have to accumulate as much as two months’ salary to pay for the current tuition of just a child in the University and some have up to four children to train at a time, hike in turion fee is a scam and nothing but a plot to economically stratify most Nigerian of the benefits of education.
Increasing the tuition fee in University of Maiduguri will lead to increased drop-outs, loss of opportunity for education, irregular attendance to school and absenteeism by students, exposure to rape and crimes as many students will move out of the school hostel to off campus, others will skip classes to cut cost, Some will combine schooling and doing odd jobs and minimum attention will be paid to studies, hence poor academic performance sets in. Many will be unable to buy text books because of increased fees, no proper power supply to research the Internet; this makes it difficult for students to study when they want. Students will resort to vices In order to cope in the face of fee increased. Many females will go into prostitution, males will go into robbery. These conditions will lend breath to failure in examinations.
It is laughable to say that the schools in Europe, United States and other developed countries that offer tuition free education at all levels to its citizens are of less standard, because they choose to practice "education for all" (EFA). This singular act has not only improved their educational structure but reduced illiteracy, crime, and unproductiveness to its minimal level. Continuous increase of tuition fee in our own part will allow Nigeria develop newest acronym "education for the rich" (EFR).
On this note, National Association of University students as the highest decision making body for over twenty five million university students in Nigeria and diaspora say no to unjustifiable hike turion fee and also calling on the management of University of Maiduguri to reverse this ungodly action with impelling alacrity, it is uncalled-for and must be reversed with immediate effect, most especially at this unstable economic period.

God bless Nigeria university students

Viva Aluta.....


Signed:
Kabir Okegbenro
Director of media and publicity, National Association of University Students.
+2349038502951

University of Maiduguri of all places.

That place should be free for all I care.

Some parents just want their kids out of the house by all means.

What was the old figure and what’s the new one?

Unical fees should be in the 30-39k range.