By Duke Onyeoma
Parents of students studying at Federal unity colleges in Nigeria have decried the recent hike in fees paid by the federal ministry of education and have appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reverse the over 100% increment, describing it as arbitrary, insensitive and ill-timed.
In a chat with newsmen on Wednesday, National Coordinator of Nigeria Patents’ Forum, Monday Eze noted that the increment was inconsistent with the welfare programme of President Tinubu to help Nigerian parents cope with the economic shocks of fuel subsidy removal.
Disclosing the parents’ feelings, Eze said: “This increment, which is billed to take effect from September 2023 when Nigerian parents will still be grappling with the economic shocks of the fuel subsidy removal is arbitrary, insensitive, ill-timed and inconsistent with President Tinubu’s promise of welfare packages to help Nigerian parents cope with the fuel subsidy removal”.
The National Coordinator bemoaned lack of qualified teachers, hostels, classrooms, science and technical workshops in the six federal science and technical colleges established in the six geopolitical zones in 2021 and charged the new administration to provide those essential things for the colleges.
On the allegations of extortions by the management in the Colleges on parents in the guise of materials and even money which includes house levies among others, that are demanded every term, he urged the Federal Government to investigate these allegee illegalitiesi n the Federal Government colleges.
