LASU Student Calls on Fashola To Make Reduction In Naira Not In Percentage
Speaking on Rubbin’ Minds, alongside the president of the Union, Nurudeen Yusuf, he noted that “when the fees was to be increased, the government came out to tell us how much we will be paying in naira and kobo” but “when they came out to announce the reduction, they announced the reduction in percentage” insisting that “this has created a lot of confusion” adding that what we are saying is the reduction should be announced in naira and kobo”
He said that the 34-60 per cent reduced by the government is still very high “because with the present reduction, a medical student will still be paying 250, 000 naira, a science student will be paying about 198, 000 naira” adding that “the lowest paying student of LASU, that is a student of Arts, will be paying 127,500 naira.
He said they had given Governor Babtunde Fashola a proposal of what they can be able to afford and “after meeting with the general student populace we came up with a proposal on how much we can pay; we came up with 46, 500 naira and 65, 500.
“So it is outrageous for the government to come out and tell us they have announced a 34-60 per cent reduction” insisting that “what we are saying is that the government should give us what we want”.
He went further to reveal that the Lagos State-owned institution needs about N10 billion to service its recurrent and capital expenditure for a year, noting that with a yearly budget of “over N400 billion, the government cannot come and tell us they cannot finance the institution”.
He argued that if Lagos State is to go by the UNESCO, a United Nations organisation which expects its members to “allocate 26 per cent” of their budgets to education, “then Lagos State University being the only university run by Lagos State government that needs just N10 billion will not have a problem of finance”.
He also wondered why other state-owned institutions in states with less vibrant economies than Lagos are paying less amounts than students of LASU when “the economy of Lagos is more viable than some countries in West Africa”. (Channels Tv)