Falana Urges University Authorities To Suspend Fees Hike

Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has called on the authorities of federal universities across the country to suspend the increase in fees which the schools recently implemented.

In a statement issued by Tayo Soyemi on behalf of Falana and Falana Chambers on Thursday, the lawyer called on the schools to suspend the increase especially because of the financial effect that the recent fuel subsidy removal has had on Nigerians.

The statement read in part, “Since the federal government has not lifted the 1975 policy which abolished the payment of tuition fees in federal tertiary institutions, the federal universities lack the power to impose astronomical tuition fees on students.”

“The payment of school fees in junior secondary schools is illegal as Section 2 of the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act and Section 15 of the Child’s Rights Act have imposed a legal obligation on the federal and state governments to provide free, compulsory and universal basic education for every child from primary to junior secondary level.

“We have noted that the governments have not taken cognizance of the plight of physically challenged people in the implementation of the new education policy. It is pertinent to point out that it is illegal to collect school fees from physically challenged students.”

Federal Universities across the country have already increased their fees for new and returning students, some of them by as much as 400%, which has led to a public outcry among Nigerians. Members of the House Of Reps had moved against the strike, urging the FG to suspend the fee increments.

The effort yielded no positive result, however, as the fee hikes have already been implemented by respective universities.