Opinion: It is time to end this LASU crisis

lasu

The Fashola administration, long in the habit of random acts of tyranny; as seen in clashes with the striking state doctors as well as with residents of the Lekki area protesting the introduction of toll fees has responded with familiar citizen bullying. Police officers were called in to disperse the crowds, in some cases arresting unyielding students even as others continued their protests on other platforms.

The Lagos State University (LASU) has been in the news once again for all the wrong reasons. Following the recommendations of a visitation panel in 2011 to the centre of higher learning, the Lagos state government has raised the cost of tuition by a whopping 725%. With this new arrangement, students who previously paid amounts from 25,000 to 65,000 Naira are now mandated to pay the grossly outrageous sums, ranging from 193,750 to 348,750 Naira depending on their course of study. Students in the faculty of Medicine have emerged the most heavily affected. This, in a state that according to the United Nations, has over 70 percent of its residents categorised as poor. And in a country with a minimum wage of 18,000 Naira only.

As has sadly become the norm, the state government has refused to take full responsibility for this increment but has instead blamed it on the students’ demands in 2009 for a better institution. According to the commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Aderemi Ibirogba, ithe troubled LASU students initiated the tuition hike process when they stormed the state house of assembly demanding the creation of a panel to look into the tons of issues plaguing the school.

Giving only scant reasons to justify the hike, government has made some wobbly noises about infrastructure development and realising the “LASU of our common dreams.”

But the roll out of this incremental plan has expectedly left a bitter taste in the mouths of students and their guardians expected to cough out these ridiculous sums and as a result, many have gone on different protests, expressing their complete rejection of the price hike. The climax was the June 10 protest at the governor’s office where some of the students registered their frustrations by boiling beans at the gates of the Lagos state seat of power.

The disorganization in the university’s system and examples of maladministration by authorities have made this particular decision a difficult one to swallow. Reported cases of students going sessions before a school identification card is issued them, delay in release of examination results and graduating students going for years without any evidence of passing through the university have led to a huge mass of disillusioned and frustrated young persons being churned out into the system annually. Only recently students went on a rampage after the vice-chancellor, Professor John Obafunwa shut down the university’s portal before a great majority of the students could register for their examinations. This impasse was resolved only after officers of the Nigerian police occupied the school premises.

According to the Student Union Government, Comrade Yusuf Nurudeen, since the tuition fees hike announcement, the school has witnessed a dramatic decline in enrolment of new students, with old ones dropping out faster than they can be replaced.

The Fashola administration, long in the habit of random acts of tyranny; as seen in clashes with the striking state doctors as well as with residents of the Lekki area protesting the introduction of toll fees has responded with familiar citizen bullying. Police officers were called in to disperse the crowds, in some cases arresting unyielding students even as others continued their protests on other platforms.

Governor Fashola however in an uncharacteristic move, reviewed the school fees downwards by a margin of 34-60% and even though the students are yet to accept the offer, this gesture, may mark the first steps towards solving the chronic LASU imbroglio.

Situations like these are best resolved through negotiations vis-à-vis a careful, holistic comprehension of the issues at stake by both parties. While it may no longer be possible to expect students to pay next to nothing for quality education, any figures arrived at should be after a thorough review of the economic realities on the ground. As it is today, the amount the state government demands is unrealistic and totally out of touch with the current practicalities. An educated citizenry is an active one and all attempts should be made to put this matter to rest once and for all. The youth must be educated and they must be able to afford it without mortgaging their very lives. It is time for governor Fashola to do the needful and become that leader everyone has been waiting for him to be.

This crisis has gone on far too long.

———————–

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail