HURIWA Warns Nigerian Universities To Stop Exorbitant Hike In School Fees

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has warned Nigerian universities to desist from attacking vulnerable students through the exorbitant increase in school fees.

The association described it as a “harsh, intolerable, wicked, and abominable development.”

HURIWA in a communique signed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko seen by THE WHISTLER said it is deeply concerned about the recent surge in tuition fees at public tertiary institutions, including the alarming increase at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

THE WHISTLER had earlier reported that the increase in school fees was over 300 per cent.

The communique reads, “HURIWA vehemently condemns these fee hikes, which directly target students from already disadvantaged backgrounds. These increases threaten to perpetuate the cycle of poverty, denying countless deserving students the opportunity to access higher education. Such policies serve the interests of a select elite while marginalizing the aspirations of millions of Nigerian youths.

“HURIWA firmly asserts that the hike in school fees is a deliberate attempt by the elite to maintain their stranglehold on education and perpetuate poverty as a generational curse.

“We demand the immediate reversal of these fees and an earnest commitment to ensuring that education remains a beacon of hope for all Nigerians, regardless of their socioeconomic background. Failure to do so may lead to nationwide unrest, which can only be averted by putting the welfare and future of our youth first.”

HURIWA also condemned the police especially in Lagos State for using water cannons and forceful means to muzzle students’ right to peaceful protests in a manner that suggests that Nigeria has snowballed and cascaded into the abyss of dictatorship and tyranny.

“Chapter 4 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognizes the right to freedom of speech and association and HURIWA stands firmly in support of the student protests against these unjust increases.

“The Great Ife Students Union and their Counterparts at UNILAG have our full solidarity. Peaceful protests are a constitutionally protected form of expression, and we condemn any undue force or intimidation by the Police against these students exercising their rights” HURIWA warned.