LASU: Angry students reject Fashola’s new fees…Warn him to stop playing god

Protesting LASU students

The Lagos State University (LASU) has released the new tuition fees to be paid by students, which range between N76, 750 and N158, 250 in compliance with the state government’s directives.

A statement by the spokesman of the University, Mr Kayode Sutton, on Friday in Lagos, said the University’s Governing Council had approved the new tuition fees.

However, angry students that have constantly embarked on state wide protests, are still kicking against the new fees, which they insisted is unacceptable to them.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Lagos State Government had, on June 11, announced a reduction of between 34 and 60 per cent in tuition fees in the institution.

Gov. Babatunde Fashola decided to reduce the fees as a result of several protests by the students and civil society groups and directed the University Governing Council to give the breakdown.

The government had, earlier in 2011, increased the fees from N25, 000 to N198, 000 for humanities and education, while medical students paid N350, 000.

According to the statement by the university on Friday, students, following the reduced fees, are expected to resume on Monday for the 2013/2014 academic session.

It said in the new fees approved by the University Governing Council would see a final year student in the Arts Department paying N76, 750 (49.3 per cent reduction).

“The new school fees regime shall not apply to students at 400 and 500 levels, who shall continue to pay the old rate of N25, 000 ,” the statement said.

According to the statement, both fresh students and final year students in the College of Medicine are expected to pay N115, 750.

It said a 200 level Engineering and Medical (Direct Entry) student would pay N158, 250 representing a 36.4 per cent reduction.

Also, it said that a 100 Level Engineering student would pay N115,750 , while returning students from 200 Level to 500 Level would pay N143,250, N143,250, N131,750 and N106,750 respectively

The statement stated that 100 and 200 Level students (Direct Entry) in the Adebola Adegunwa School of Communication will now pay N103, 250, while a 200 Level returning student will pay N88, 250.

It said students in the Faculty of Management Sciences, will now pay between N86,750 and N113,250.

According to the statement, the Faculty of Science also has a reduction in fees of between 51.6 per cent and 42.3 per cent for Fisheries, Botany and Zoology.

“This ultimately cumulates into N115,750,  N118,250,  N103,250,  N113,250 , N106,750 and N96,750 for students in 100 to 500 Level, including 200 level (Direct Entry) students,’’ it said.

The Management, in the statement also directed all students of the University to resume for the 2013/2014 academic session on Monday, in view of the development.

It said that students were to commence the payment of school fees and registration immediately and urged them to be law-abiding as they resume.

Meanwhile, several angry and disappointed students of the embattled institution, who spoke with SHOWBIZPLUSng, vehemently condemned the new fees and warned Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola to desist from playing god and toying with the future of hapless Lagosians.

“This is pure wickedness. We won’t accept these strangulating fees. Fashola and his team should stop playing gods in Lago,” one of the students warned.