LASU Students Reject Government’s Arbitrary Percentage-Based Fees & Fixed Their Own

Students of the Lagos State University (LASU) have rejected the offer of the Lagos State Government to reduce some fees by percentage points, depending on the faculty or department. Instead, they are demanding a 67% reduction, period.

The students made their views known today at a press conference, pointing out that while the government made no reference to percentages when it was imposing the hike, it has chosen a spurious regime of percentages for reducing it.

Addressing the conference on behalf of the LASU Students Union Government, the president of the union, Mr. Nurudeen Yusuf Temilola, described the hike in the first place as "satanic, inhumane and ridiculous".

He said the offer to reduce on varying percentages was unacceptable to the students, noting that the Government had announced the hike in specific "Naira and kobo terms" when it was increasing the tuition, and that parents who sell common items such as pepper and foodstuff to pay school fees do not understand the loose percentages.

"The Government is trying to play joker on our future, destiny and posterity of the State", Temilola said.

The union said they want the government to announce a specific amount across the board, stating that they had themselves recommended to the government a fee raise structure that the students will be comfortable with:

N65,000 for fresh students, and

N46,500 for returning students, across the board.

The SUG said the government ignored those recommendations only to come up later with its unacceptable percentage options and those they regard the government’s threats and actions to be a violation of their rights.