The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to suspend recent increases in fees charged by public tertiary institutions, warning that the hikes could undermine the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and make higher education less accessible to students from low-income families.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Ifeoluwa Ehindero, an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker representing Ondo State, during Tuesday’s plenary.
The lawmakers’ intervention comes amid growing concerns over the rising cost of university, polytechnic and college of education education, with fee increases in some public institutions triggering protests by students struggling to meet their financial obligations.
Moving the motion, Ehindero argued that sudden increases in tuition and other charges could weaken the impact of NELFUND, a Federal Government initiative established to provide eligible students with interest-free loans to support their tertiary education.
He said the scheme was designed around existing tuition benchmarks and institutional cost structures, warning that arbitrary fee increases could make the loans insufficient to cover students’ educational expenses.
The lawmaker also cited Section 18 of the 1999 Constitution, which outlines the state’s responsibility to promote equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.
According to him, some institutions introduced higher charges without adequate consultation or sufficient consideration of the economic difficulties facing Nigerian households.
Ehindero warned that continued increases could widen the gap between students from wealthy backgrounds and those who depend on government support to pursue their education.
“If not immediately addressed, it may lead to increased student dropouts, campus unrest, and overall loss of public confidence in government’s commitment to affordable education,” he said.
The motion was unanimously adopted through a voice vote presided over by the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas.
As part of its resolutions, the House urged the Federal Government to consider increasing financial allocations to public tertiary institutions to reduce their reliance on internally generated revenue from student fees and other charges.
Lawmakers also mandated the House committees on university education, federal polytechnics and higher technical education, and federal colleges of education to investigate recent fee increases across public tertiary institutions and determine their extent and justification.
The investigation is expected to provide the House with a clearer picture of the reasons behind the increases and their implications for students.
The development highlights the challenge of balancing the funding needs of public institutions with the need to keep higher education affordable. While universities and other tertiary institutions face rising operational costs, students and their families are also grappling with economic pressures that make tuition and other school expenses increasingly difficult to meet.
For NELFUND to achieve its objective of expanding access to higher education, lawmakers are concerned that student loans must remain adequate in the face of rising fees, particularly for students who have few alternative sources of financial support.