As more and more federal universities continue to hike their tuition fees, this trend has now become a source of concern to many students across universities who bemoan how they will survive in this situation.
Earlier this year, moreĀ federal universities (the Federal University, Dutse, UNIMAID, MOUA, FULafia, Unilorin, UniUyo, and recently UNILAG, OAU, and UNIJOS) across the country announced over 200 per cent hike in registration and tuition fees for students.
The reasons for the hike in tuition fees range from the increasing expenses in educational resources such as teaching materials, learning materials, laboratory consumables (For UNIMAID), and due to the escalating cost of providing services (for MOUA).
For many other universities, too, the subsidy on education and invariably tuition fees is no longer sustainable due to the prevailing economic situation in the country.
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Putting two and two together, it appears that tuition fees will eventually skyrocket in other universities, resulting in students’ protests across the country. Many students would take to the streets to lament and kick against this increment, but it might not achieve the desired result.
It seems to me that the justification for this hike is that it will enable universities deliver quality education and also save ASUU from embarking on incessant strike actions as they would have enough money for funding.
No matter where the tide turns, there will be effects of this hike on students and our perception of university degree will change. This paradigm shift is already being carried as some form of joke. For instance, some students are wondering why they will pay #170 thousand naira just to read fisheries in school where there are other viable options.
First, as much as this appears as a joke, many parents and students will begin to consider the value for their money and start wondering if there are job prospects for the courses they want to read. This is not to posit that there are some ‘useless’ courses at Nigerian universities, it just means that students would begin to ponder over the rewards or value (job prospects) of what they are committing their financial resources into.
However, going to school is not necessarily for the degree. There are other things that come with reading for a Bachelor’s degree such as exposure, connections, changes in worldview, and mentorships. Besides, reading a course in a university is like a battle ground for character development and soft skills acquisition.
Secondly, a considerable number of students might drop out of school.
This is not uncommon whenever there is a hike in tuition fees. Education in Nigeria would now be seen as a serious investment exclusively reserved for the middle and upper classes, and no longer for the less privileged.
But what would happen to the poor and less privileged after this hike in tuition fees?
They would have to fight their ways to get a university education through students’ loans and scholarships. Also, there is a possibility that local and national scholarships would be made available for indigent, bright students which they can avail themselves of.
Lastly, creative arts and technical skills will be seriously encouraged. Students who are gifted or talented in a particular endeavour would start honing their skills with the financial resources they have, rather than investing the money in a degree that cannot bring food to their table in the long run.
Technical and several privately owned academy colleges would begin to tap into this skills gap to train students skills such as arts direction, scriptwriting, drawing, cinematography, painting, etc at a subsidized rate. These students might also be given the privilege to pay after their graduation as the owners are confident that the skills are highly in demand.
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