Hike in unity schools’ fees is a minus

The crisis in the education sector came to a worrisome turn last week following reports of a massive hike in the school fees payable in the 104 unity schools, otherwise known as Federal Government Colleges. The education sector is one of the most troubled sectors in Nigeria, with inconsistencies and policy somersaults.

Something as mundane as admission of candidates into tertiary institutions is a big problem. There is no established framework for admitting candidates into universities and other higher institutions of learning. Every year, the rules change; candidates and their parents are made to face fresh hurdles.

Whereas the Federal Government announced the scrapping of the ad-hoc post-JAMB screening tests; the schools, particularly, the private universities, have bluntly refused to obey the simple instruction and have continued to conduct the tests, thereby daring the government. That is anarchic, to say the least.

Otherwise, how else do you show that we are operating a lawless system where everyone is doing what he or she likes? Why should educational institutions blatantly flout an order issued by the government? Even as I write, the admission rules are being changed and forced onto the tertiary institutions, whether or not they like it.

From that angle, it is not surprising that the Federal Government, without prior notification hiked the tuition fees payable in the Federal Government Colleges. That is part of the confusion and disorder in the system. The decision is absolutely wrong-headed and a step in the wrong direction. By introducing such hefty school fees, government is telling Nigerians not to bother about being educated; that it is paying lip service to education.

I have always thought that the best way to ensure quality and affordable education in Nigeria might be to let the Federal Government run basic education, for that is the critical stage that assures mass literacy, since most states are unable to cope with demands at that level. The developed countries that have high literacy rates pay special attention to primary and secondary education; that is where effort is needed most. Secondary school education makes one literate. After that, tertiary education is there to sharpen the intellect and skills for better contribution to national development. A literate individual is in a position to make rational decision.

For the Federal Government to turn around to impose exorbitant and unaffordable school fees on the 104 secondary schools under its control is unthinkable. Those are the only public schools that one can reckon with. In a way, it means that all the talk about educating the Nigerian child is mere rhetoric. Government is playing to the gallery. We have a long way to go since only the rich, who can afford it, would send their children to school. This is very sad.

News about the hike broke in the past week following the protest organised by members of the National Parents and Teachers Association of the Federal Government Colleges (NAPTAFEGC) against the increase.

According to the communiqué released by the organisation, the increment from N20,000 to N75,000 was untimely and insensitive on the part of the government. It noted that an average Nigerian worker whose minimum wage is N18,000 and who has one or two children in the colleges will not be able to pay.

The association observed that the increase is a negation of the policy or principle that established the unity colleges which is to make basic and secondary education affordable and accessible to average Nigerians.

The association appealed to President Muhammedu Buhari and members of the National Assembly to compel the Federal Ministry of Education to revert to the old fee regime “as the education of Nigerian children is a right and not a privilege.”

Putting the appeal straight to President Buhari and the National Assembly is quite appropriate, for they ought to have the final say on this very important matter. Education is one of the cardinal programmes of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), that campaigned and came to power on the popular acclaim for CHANGE. Therefore, for the same party to turn the Federal Government Colleges that have been there for over 40 years into elite schools for the rich would be totally against the spirit and purpose of the positive change that Nigerians voted for.

For the purpose of this comment, it would be appropriate to remind the Buhari administration that the jolt in education is not what he promised. The following is what the APC promised. It is taken from APC’s Roadmap to a New Nigeria – Join the Movement FOR CHANGE. Under its “Free And Relevant Quality Education!” It says, “With 10.8 million of our primary school aged children out of school, our future and that of our children are in a state of emergency.”

Furthermore, it asks: “What do we define as free and relevant education?” The CHANGE agenda lists them as follows: One meal a day for all primary school students; Free tertiary education for science, technology, engineering and mathematics; Free tertiary education for education majors; Stipends for education majors before employment; and Special incentives and attention to educate the girl child. Which of these things is being implemented now?

The key words in the historic promise are, “Free and relevant education”. These promises with all the trappings attached, are so attractive that any right-thinking person, who is interested in the progress and development of this country, will definitely go for them. It is little wonder, then, that Nigerians, having gone through years of suffering and pain, quickly fell to Buhari and the APC, by voting overwhelmingly for them, hoping to see positive change. But alas, the reverse appears to be the case. There are hues and cries everywhere, as Nigerians suffer under the burden of an economic crunch that is totally in contradistinction to their expectations.

It would amount to deceit for the Buhari administration to add to the burden by hiking school fees, when he promised to make education free. If the President cannot afford the free education for the obvious reasons of the economic recession, it would just be fair for him to leave the fees where they are, at least to show concern for the plight of Nigerians. Certainly, the hike is a minus for President Buhari and the APC.