School Fees Hike: CNG accuses governments for attempt to commercialise education

By Muhammad Sani Mu’azu

The students wing of the coalition of Northern groups has accused the Federal and state governments of trying to commercialise education in the country.

The group made the displeasure over the recent hike of school fees in some northern Federal and state governments institutions in a letter addressed to the speaker Bauchi state house of Assembly and copied to the Emir of Bauchi, The commissioner of police Bauchi state command, The Bauchi state commissioner Ministry of education, the director department of state services and the special assistant to Bauchi state governor on students matters.

In the letter signed by National director New Media and publicity Comrade Bello Muhammad Aliyu, the student’s wing of the CNG condemns in the strongest terms, the hike in registration fees which it described as untimely, unconscionable height of insensitivity and unacceptable attempt to deny the children of the
poor access to affordable education, entrench class dichotomy and widen the class gap.

According to the letter, Institutions such as Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi In the Northeast and Ahmadu Bello University ZARIA in the Northwest were reported to have doubled there
registration fees while Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Minna In the North central was reported to have increased its registration
fees by 60%, which would not be accepted by the group.

The letter added that the hike in the fees will also aggravate the current economic hardship, unemployment, poverty and insecurity which which will continue to cripple most of commercial activities especially in northern Nigeria.

Comrade Bello Muhammad Aliyu used the medium to appeal to students to be law abiding and not to take laws into their hands in the quest to seek reversal of the fee increase, and equally prayed that the government will listen to the cry of innocent Nigerian students.