It has been commendation galore for the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, following his responsive reduction of the proposed tuition fees, considered as high, for pioneer students of the state’s two newly established universities including Lagos State University of Education, LASUED, Ijanikin/Epe and Lagos State University of Science and Technology, LASUSTECH, Ikorodu.
The governor reduced the N195,000 tuition fee proposed by the schools’ management by 65%, pegging the school fee at N68,000.
It was learnt that the decision was in consideration of the present state of the nation’s economy and its impact on parents.
The approval was announced via a statement issued on Wednesday, December 7, by the Special Adviser on Education to the Governor, Tokunbo Wahab.
Sanwo-Olu said his administration would not only continue to give necessary support to the two universities but would work towards making them one of the best in the country.
While commending the governor for the kind gesture, Adeboruwa of Igbogbo Kingdom, Oba Abdul Semiu Orimadegun Kasali, noted that the reduction in the proposed tuition by the governor was a big relief as more and more parents from the state would be able to send their children to tertiary institutions to acquire university education.
The monarch, who described the establishment of the two additional state universities for the state as a blessing, commended Sanwo-Olu and his team for bringing a lot of reforms to the Sstate’s education sector, adding that the state government’s continued support and funding of the state-owned institutions have helped them to excell in all fronts.
Also speaking, the Baale of Parafa in Ikorodu LG area, Chief Jamiu Odusanya, described the governor’s gesture as a welcome development.
He appreciated the state government for assisting indigent students from a humble backgrounds to meet their university aspirations, adding that the reduction would promote the growth of varsity education in the State.
On his part, the secretary to the local government(SLG) Ijede LCDA, Olambinwonu urged parents to take full advantage of the government’s gesture to send their children to either of the Universities to acquire more knowledge.
He noted that history would be kind to Sanwo-Olu administration on various reforms embarked upon to reposition the State education to its present status.
President of the defunct Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Okeychukwu David, a 300 Level student of Mathematics and Economics expressed gratitude, saying his major fear was how to further his education after his National Certificate of Education (NCE)programme.
According to him, many of his colleagues that completed their NCE programmes could not further their education to the university level due to financial constraints, noting that with the new reduction, Sanwo-Olu had helped to break the financial barrier to university education.
Also, his counterpart in LASUSTECH, Aderemi Balogun who is a Higher National Diploma, HND, student of Business Administration Part 2, said students of his institution were thrown into wild jubilations when they heard the announcement.
Balogun who commended Sanwo-Olu for his kindness, saying the new tuition was pocket friendly and affordable.
“We were so happy to receive the news as expectations were high before that the State government might increase the fees considering the fact that they were new Universities.
“We owe Mr. Governor a lot of gratitude both for the reduction in the tuition and lot of infrastructure projects on going on our campus” Balogun stated.
Recall that the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abubakar Rasheed on February 8 handed over certificates for the two new Universities–LASUED and LASUSTECH to Sanwo-Olu at the commission’s headquarters in Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.
