The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to provide more funding for public tertiary institutions and ask them to suspend planned school fee increases amid concerns that rising education costs could limit access to higher education.
The lawmakers also called on the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission to engage the institutions’ management on reviewing their tuition fees in line with current economic conditions.
The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Ifeoluwa Ehindero, who represents Akoko-South West/Akoko-South East Federal Constituency of Ondo State, during Tuesday’s plenary.
The motion, titled “Need to halt the recent increase in school fees by public tertiary institutions and its impact on Nigerian Education Loan Fund,” highlighted concerns about the effects of rising tuition fees on students and the sustainability of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund scheme.
Ehindero argued that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund was designed around existing tuition benchmarks and institutional cost measures, warning that sudden increases in fees could undermine its objectives.
He said, “Arbitrary or sudden hikes in fees by institutions will undermine the sustainability, equity and effectiveness of the loan programme.”
The lawmaker observed that several public tertiary institutions nationwide, including universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, had recently increased school fees and other mandatory charges, with some institutions imposing hikes of more than 100 per cent.
He said the fee hikes were introduced without adequate consultation or proper consideration of the economic challenges facing many Nigerian households.
“Ehindero said, The House observes that the recent and widespread increases in school fees and other mandatory charges by several public tertiary institutions across the country, including universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, in some cases, by over 100 per cent, have been implemented without broad consultation or consideration of the economic realities facing many Nigerian families.
“We are worried that if allowed to continue unchecked, these fee increments may create significant disparities in the allocation of education loans, crowd out students from less affluent backgrounds and frustrate the objectives of NELFUND in bridging access to higher education.”
Ehindero, who chairs the House Committee on NELFUND, cautioned that further increases in tuition fees and other charges could lead to more students dropping out and spark unrest across campuses.
He warned that if the trend continued unchecked, it “may lead to increased student dropouts, campus unrest and overall loss of public confidence in Government’s commitment to affordable education.”
After the motion received overwhelming support, the House urged the Federal Government to consider increasing financial support to public tertiary institutions to reduce their reliance on revenue generated from student fees and other charges.
The lawmakers also called on the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission to engage the institutions’ management to “suspend school fees increment and initiate a comprehensive review of tuition structures to align with economic realities.”
The House also directed its Committees on University Education, Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, and Federal Colleges of Education to probe the scale and rationale behind recent school fee increases across public tertiary institutions.
The investigation will assess the reasons for the hikes and determine whether the additional charges are justified, while considering the need to ensure that students from low-income families can still afford higher education.