The President of the Students Union Government ( SUG) of the Kaduna State University (KASU), Abubakar Abdullahi has called on Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State to grant them waivers on the backlog of old tuition fees, saying many students and their parents would not be able to pay the accumulated tuition fees.
The SUG President who spoke in an interview, commended the Governor for reducing school fees in state-owned higher institutions, saying the essence of the downward review was to avoid students dropping out of school.
He however noted that many students of KASU were still unable to clear the backlog of fees, adding that “even if they are allowed to complete their studies, they will not be issued with certificate until they pay all outstanding fees.”
“We are calling on the governor to consider waiving it for them or grant them a substantial discount so that they can be paying it in instalments. As I am talking to you, there are over 200 students who are in the 200 level now but they don’t have matriculation numbers.”
“They are still using the JAMB number because they have not settled their tuition fees. What this means is that the school does not recognise them. It is only when you have registered by paying the specified fees that the school can give you the matriculation number. These students are facing a lot of challenges and threats of being thrown out of school. We are calling on the government to please look into this,’ he said.
Abdullahi who commended the governor for the recent reduction of tuition fees, said the development was a great relief for students and parents.
He said despite the reduction, many students and their parents were under heavy burden as they would not be able to settle the accumulated fees arising from the old tuition fees, and appealed to the governor to intervene by waiving the debts or reducing it by 50 per cent.
“The students of Kaduna State University and other tertiary institutions in Kaduna State are very happy about the reduction in school fees by Governor Uba Sani. We are happy that the governor fulfilled the promise he made to students in Kaduna state. He promised that he would review school fees and scholarships.”
“This is a big relief for the students and parents. However we are pleading for further intervention by the governor because the reality is that many students have not been able to settle the old tuition fees. Many of them could not even afford to make part payments for the old tuition fees, students are still having problems.”
“These students are owing the school a lot due to the accumulation of the old fees which they could not afford to pay. If you add the tuition fee for the last session which is N150,000, depending on your faculty, and another N150,000 for the current session, you will see that the students owe a lot of money and might even drop out of school at the end of the day,” he said.
On August 21, 2023, Governor Uba Sani reduced tuition fees in state-owned tertiary institutions by 30 and 50 per cent, saying the downward review was in response to public outcry over the high fees.
