·
Demands the immediate and unconditional reversal
of the obnoxious fee
·
Calls for an organized movement of students
against all forms of fee hike including the administrative fee
·
Demands for a general congress of students to
address this issue among others
·
Demands for proper and adequate funding of
public education
·
For free and functional education must be
accessible by all
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC)
Ondo State Chapter condemns the 35% hike in the tuition fee of the fresh degree
students of Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo from N39, 000 (for Arts, languages
and education) to N55, 500 and from N39, 500 (for science and science, vocation
and technical education) to N60, 500. We note that this increment has come in a
period of economic hardship viz-a-viz non-payment of salaries across majority
of the states in the country, and inflation which has led to increases in the
cost of goods and services. We consider this increment as anti-students and
anti-poor. If implemented, it is capable of limiting many students from
accessing public education in the country.
Meanwhile this fee increment does
not come as a surprise. It is a logical culmination of the series of anti-poor
increases in payable fees that the authorities of Adeyemi College of Education
(ACE) Ondo have been imposing on students and their poor parents over the
years. No doubt the authorities of ACE have continued to impose all kinds of
ridiculous charges. For instance during the 2011/2012 academic session, the
management introduced a so-called maintenance fee of N3, 000 for degree and N2,
000 for NCE students. Similarly during the 2012/2013 academic session, the
authorities introduced acceptance fee of N10, 000 while in the 2014/2015
academic session, an administrative fee of N10, 000 was introduced.
The argument behind the
introduction of maintenance fee in the 2011/2013 session was to cater for the
immediate needs of the departments and schools (faculties) but this has not
stopped the heads and deans of various schools and departments from demanding a
quota from the students’ association purse.
Also, the acceptance fee which
was introduced in2012/2013session in the name of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)
has continued to defy the law of gravity, growing to as much as N25, 000 (for
degree students) and N20, 000 (for NCE students) in 2016/2017 session.
Not only limited to this, an
administrative fee of 10,000 was as well introduced in 2014/2015 which started
with fresh students only. By this, the increment affected only fresh students and
they will continue to pay it till they graduate. As at present, only the
400level students are exempted from this fee. This means that all students will
have to pay this fee starting from the next session. This same method was again
used for the latest hike in fees in the college.
This tactical hike in fee is not
unconnected with the threat from the mother institution – Obafemi Awolowo
University (OAU) Ile-Ife –which allegedly has threatened to terminate its
affiliation if these anti-students policies are not implemented. As the
management of ACE Ondo has justified, the administrative fee is meant to cater
for the salary arrears and remunerations of the staff taking degree courses as
they were only employed for NCE programs and OAU is not taking the responsibilities
of remunerating them. In addition to this, it was also stated that it is a norm
and it is being done in every other institutions having an affiliation (University
of Ibadan, COE Ilesha as example). ERC wonder why students will have to pay for
services of the staff in a federal institution. As far as we are concerned,
since the degree programme is approved by relevant bodies, the government which
is the owner of both institutions should take up the responsibility of paying
the salaries and allowances of the academic staff.
Not limited to this, the same
mother institution, OAU, has also demanded for an increment in the fee of the
degree students of the affiliate institution, ACE Ondo, to level up
with that of OAU faculty of Education if the students want to continue earning
the certificate of OAU. The 100% increment proposed by OAU was later negotiated
and reduced to the present fee which is statistically 35% greater than the initial
fee. While not accepting that the current fee being paid by OAU Education
students is fair and just, ERC wonders why ACE students will have to pay the
same fee as OAU students when both do not enjoy neither the same amenities nor
taught under the same learning conditions. If this threat amidst others are not
resisted, ERC fears many and even worse policies will arise in future.
With the explanations above, we
can conclude that the inability of ACE to resist various anti-students policies
compelled on them has resulted in series of hike in fees. Also, the increment
is tactical, starting only with fresh students with the tactics that stale
students may not intervene and fresh students (who are actually eager for admission)
would graciously pay. Also, the decision of the students union to negotiate the
fee without the consent of the majority of the students they represent is
condemnable. It is imperative that the rank and file of students must be
consulted before such a negotiation is made. For issues relating to students, a
well-attended congress of students must be convened with a view to properly convey
the opinion of students to the management. Hence, a congress of students is inevitable
at this point.
The fact that the fee affects only
fresh is not an enough reasons for students not to reject such. We should be
reminded that the birth of the administrative fee was the same which later
attracted lots of mixed reactions later. Also, it should be noted that even NCE
students who may actually want to come over for their Degree programs will
surely be affected by this. Hence, we call on a radical thinking of students
towards this. In essence, we urge students not to fall for this divide and rule
gimmick of the college management. Stale and fresh students are the same; they
study under the same terrible conditions of learning. We therefore call for
unity of all students to resist the fee hike through mass demonstrations and
lecture boycotts.
Considering that many ACE
students are self-sponsored while several others are children of public workers
who are being owed backlog of salaries, the outcome of this is that many
students will be denied access to public
education and forced to wait for another year at home. The set of students who
have been denied of admission will seek for alternative thereby teaming up to
engage in various social vices such as raping, smoking, drinking, cultism,
stealing, kidnapping and consequently armed robbery.
Our position as Education Rights
Campaign is that free and quality education must be accessible to all.
Consequent upon this background, we call on students and activists to resist these
future-ruining anti-students policies. Students should understand that if these
various threats of the ACE and OAU authorities are not resisted, the upcoming
policies might be extremely unbearable and force many students who cannot cope
to drop out. We also call on staff unions in the College to oppose the fee hike
and stand in solidarity with students until the struggle for reversal is won.
This is essential because ACE management may want to use the need for payment
of the salary and allowances of workers to justify the anti-poor increment with
a view to driving a wedge between students and workers in the institution.
While the management can be timid
to confront these policies from OAU for the fear of losing its affiliation,
students must start organizing themselves to take up this issue with a view to
delivering ACE from any further attack on the campus. We also call on student
activist and left organizations in OAU to take up this issue with a view to
stopping OAU from any further intimidation on ACE as well as the complete reversal
of the existing anti-poor policies.
In conclusion, a general congress
of students at this point is inevitable and long overdue. We propose that if
the union leadership refuses to call for a congress, the congress of students
should start mobilizing themselves with a view to demanding for the reversal of
this fee. Also, students need to start demanding for an increased budgetary
allocation to education so that the drive to increase the internally generated
revenue (IGR) will be totally suppressed and free and functional education will
be accessible to all. It is until the students and workers are organized that
all these policies can be resisted.
Owoyomi Damilola Owot
Ondo State Coordinator
Education Rights Campaign (ERC)
07065184322
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