National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has said that the recent 200 percent increase of school fees by the Nigerian universities especially, in the North-East region is a threat to the ongoing peace-building process that may in return produce fresh and intellectual insurgents?
This was contained in a statement issued by the NANS national vice president special duties, Comrade Suleiman Muhammad Sarki which was obtained by LEADERSHIP yesterday in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
Since the announcement of the new school fees rates by the University of Maiduguri there has been apprehension by both students and parents over the state of education for the poor vis-a-vis the terrorists’ ideology of ‘Boko Haram ‘, meaning western education is forbidden, as such ideology resulted to the over 12- year Boko Haram insurgency that witnessed mass abduction of students, killings and destruction of educational structures in Borno and other parts of Northeast.
Stakeholders further feared that the hike in the school fees might force some of the students who are internally displaced persons (IDPs) and less privileged in the society to drop out of school, and make them willing tools in the hands of the terrorists who have lost so many fighters due to intensive military onslaught against them.
Thus, Comrade Sarki in the statement said as students’ leaders and advocate of qualitative education, they are worried over the government’s failure to give the needed priority to the nation’s education at all levels, noting that the standard of education continues to go down due to the insensitivity of government and the inability to provide conducive teaching, learning, and working environment through lack of basic facilities.
“Education empowers minds that can conceive good thoughts and ideas. Education enables individuals to do the analysis while making life decisions. It was pointed out that top ten most literate nations in the world are at peace, while almost all of the top ten least literate nations in the world are in a state of either outright war or general insecurity.
“From the foregoing, it is neither exaggeration or understatement to say that the higher a nation attains education, the stronger the nation’s security, hence, education contributes to the security of the nation,” the NANS national vice president special duties said.