Students of the Lagos State University and civil society groups stormed the streets yesterday, Tuesday Feb 18 to protest against the government’s refusal to reverse the hike in the institution’s tuition fee.
The protesters chanted several songs, and displayed placards with different inscriptions, including, “Education is a right not a privilege; Adequate funding of education is non-negotiable and reverse the tuition fees now”, paralysed activities at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Alausa, Ikeja, said the exorbitant fee could make some students abandon their education.
The civil society groups that joined the students were, Education Right Campaign and Joint Action Front, among others.
The National Coordinator of ERC, Mr Hassan Soweto, who spoke on behalf of the students, said many indigent students went through harrowing experiences to pay the school’s tuition fee of N250,000 minimum.
He explained that the hike was actually the root cause of LASU’s crises which led to the indefinite closure of the institution.
Soweto said the lawmakers were biased to have put all the blames on the students rather than addressing the problem affecting the institution.
He said, “The hike in the school fees since 2011 is the cause of the recurrent crises in LASU. The fee is one of the highest in the entire country.
“Also, the Assembly has acted in error. It is unfair to put all the blame on the students. This is against the claims by the party that calls itself the progressive; we should address the problem at the root.”
Also the Secretary General of JAF, Mr. AbiodunAremu, said, “The Assembly has a constitutional responsibility to reverse the fees. We are here today because we know our lawmakers were beneficiaries of public education.
“Universities should not be run by dictators so that the rights of students would not be jeopardised.”
Deputy Speaker, KolawoleTaiwo, who addressed the protesters, said it was unfair for them (protesters) to claim that the Assembly had been one-sided.
He, however, commended the students for being law-abiding despite being aggrieved about their situation.
“I want to assure you that the Assembly will look into your complaints. We thank you for not taking laws into your hands. We do the needful,” he said.