Beyond dramatic fee reduction in LASU

With tuition now N25,000, will normalcy return to the Lagos State University, Ojo, where government had hitherto hiked fees? CHARLES ABAH asks

The occasion was the 19th convocation of the Lagos State University, Ojo. The venue was the New Auditorium in the university. Inside the hall were eminent Nigerians, including the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, as well as members of his cabinet. Principal officers of the university, including the Vice-Chancellor, Prof John Obafunwa, were present. There were also graduating students as well as their well wishers.

But outside of the hall, there was tension. The huge police presence around the auditorium and on the entire campus aptly captured the anxiety. Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities were protesting. They were kicking against the non-payment of their two months salaries. Some students of the university were also chanting solidarity songs and calling for the reversal of the controversial hike in their tuition. Members of the Non-Academic Staff of Universities were also on hand, protesting against the management of the university. All of these conspired to paint a picture of worry and trepidation in the ivory tower.

However, the situation altered dramatically in the twinkle of an eye. This followed the governor’s announcement reversing the tuition paid in the university. There was jubilation both inside and outside the hall. The ovation that greeted the announcement was thunderous. From all the corners in the New Auditorium came shouts of victory and prolonged applause.

The first to rush out of the hall was the Student’s Union President, Nurudeen Yusuf, who informed other restive students of the governor’s pronouncement. Fashola had reversed the fees to N25,000, cancelling the old regime, which ranged between N150, 000 and N350, 000. For the three years that the old regime lasted, it had been a harvest of crises, with students and members of the human right groups demanding its reversal. Even the Academic Staff Union of Universities, SSANU and other unions in the institution exploited the “tuition palaver” in their various disagreements with the authorities.

So with the governor’s gesture, stakeholders are wont to ask whether the restoration of N25, 000 tuition would end the series of crises facing the university. They also want to know whether the reduction is the elixir for returning normalcy to the citadel. The challenges facing the school are numerous – ranging from frequent disruption of academic activities occasioned by protests by stakeholders, cultism, dearth of infrastructure to poor funding, among others.

Examining the development, the SSANU Chairman in the university, Mr. Saheed Oseni, says the declaration, rolling back the tuition to N25,000, is commendable. The move, he adds, will not only help to shore up the admission intakes but also enable more candidates to have access to university education in the state.

Beyond this, Oseni says, the state government and the authorities of the university need to do more to achieve peace in the school. According to him, issues bordering on good leadership, staff welfare and the provision of better facilities are the tonic needed for peace and excellence to reign in an academic environment.

He adds, “Is the reduction in tuition the key to normalcy? The answer definitely is no. It will only increase the admission intake as well as access to university education in the state. Staff welfare is important. For any institution to attain greater heights, you must take good care of the workers. If there is reduction in tuition and issues bordering on staff remain unattended to, automatically, we would not achieve anything. It is only a happy person that can give his best in a work environment.

“I, therefore, urge the authorities too, as a matter of urgency, to try to resolve all lingering issues in the university. Once workers are getting their dues, including promotion and salaries, there is no marginalsation, people will put in their best. Again, the style of leadership is important. A poor administrator cannot take the institution to loftier heights.”

Before the tuition hike three sessions ago, the university admitted no fewer than 6, 000 candidates annually. The number has since reduced drastically, with only 1, 100 candidates, for instance, securing admission to the university this year.

The LASU-ASUU Chairman, Dr. Adekunle Idris, also shares his thought on the problems confronting the institution. Besides the reduction, Idris thinks the university authorities should be more creative in raising internally-generated revenue, just as he calls on the state government to increase its allocation to the institution. According to him, the government has the capacity to fund and make the university an excellent one.

He says, “We believe that the reduction should bring a lot of succour to the institution. The next thing borders on how the university administration handles the other matters on ground. Everything depends on how the VC handles the other issues. However, ASUU as a union has decided that it is the time to rebuild. Members of the union believe it is time to let the world know the goodness that resides in LASU and the ability of the university to produce first-rate human capital for the state and Nigeria. It is time to make up for the lost ground and we are ready to support the authorities to actualise these things.

“It is unfortunate that the university authorities are not tapping into the various sources from within to get money. Apart from that, we believe that Lagos State, being the richest state in West Africa, with about N20bn IGR a month, should be able to cover up for whatever short fall arising from the school fees.”

Idris also dismisses the insinuation that the reduction will bring in all manner of persons as well as impact negatively on quality education delivery in the ivory tower.

He says. “In fact, the reverse is to be the case. Are they saying that in some of the federal and state universities where the fees are relatively cheaper, that their students are not doing well academically? Are they saying that the academic quality in UNILAG and UI is low? So, why will they expect less from LASU? The truth is that good students, who hitherto were not able to pay the high fees, will now have the opportunity to come into the university to compete. All we need to do is to tighten the admission process and ensure that we get the best into the system.

Yusuf further notes that with the reduction, a larger percentage of the crises in the university has been resolved. He, nonetheless, advises the management to continue to liaise with the different unions in order to resolve all other outstanding issues. The SUG president, who agrees with Idris that increased students’ intake will not affect quality delivery, also forecloses the likelihood of a swell in cult-related cases.

Meanwhile, a group, the Education Rights Campaign, has urged stakeholders to be vigilant to ensure that there is no truncation of the desires of the workers and students of the university.

In a statement by its Executive Director, Taiwo Hassan, titled “Reversal of LASU fees: we are Vindicated”, the group says it welcomes the government’s decision over the “astronomically hiked fees”.

The ERC, however, warns, “Eternal vigilance is now required from LASU students and workers to ensure that this victory is permanent. This is important because the experience of okada (commercial motorcycles) riders and other oppressed masses in Lagos is instructive to note that the Lagos State APC-led government can grant concessions in the run-up to elections only to withdraw them once they have comfortably returned to the saddle.

“Equally instructive is the fact that right at the convocation ceremony where the governor announced reversal of the fees, protesting members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, who were demanding improvement in their working conditions, were tear-gassed. This should be a warning to all LASU students that regardless of the reversal, the anti-poor mentality and mindset of the Lagos State Government remains unchanged. The ERC therefore calls on students to support actively the members of SSANU and every other union agitating for improvement in their conditions because without these unions’ solidarity, the struggle for reversal of the fees would not have been won.”