REPS SEEK SUSPENSION OF SCHOOL FEE HIKES, ORDER PROBE INTO INCREASES ABOVE 100%

The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to suspend recent fee increases in public tertiary institutions, warning that rising costs could make higher education harder for Nigerian families to afford.

Lawmakers also raised concerns that the increases could weaken the impact of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which provides interest-free loans to eligible students.

The resolutions followed a motion sponsored by Ifeoluwa Ehindero, who said some public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education had raised fees and other compulsory charges by more than 100 per cent.

Ehindero argued that the increases were introduced without sufficient consultation or proper consideration of the financial pressures facing families.

The House directed its committees on University Education, Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, and Federal Colleges of Education to investigate the scale of the increases and assess the reasons given by the institutions.

Lawmakers noted that NELFUND was created to help students pursue higher education without financial barriers. They warned that sudden or arbitrary fee increases could put additional pressure on the scheme and undermine its sustainability.

The motion also referenced the government’s responsibility under Section 18 of the Constitution to promote equal and adequate educational opportunities.

The House’s intervention is a call for the increases to be suspended pending further action; it does not itself reverse the fees already announced by institutions.