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Home » Tuition fees in ALL public tertiary institutions in Kaduna have been Increases.

Tuition fees in ALL public tertiary institutions in Kaduna have been Increases.

by Totori News

The Kaduna state government has announced an increase in tuition fees at all of its tertiary institutions in order for them to provide the quality skills and training needed to face 21st-century challenges.

Kaduna State University (KASU); Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria; Kaduna State College of Education (COE), Gidan Waya; Shehu Idris College of Health Sciences, Makarfi; and Kaduna State College of Nursing and Midwifery are among the institutions.

According to NAN, the state commissioner for education, Shehu Makarfi, announced the news in Kaduna on Monday.

Makarfi explained that the government had set a minimum fee for institutions to charge.

The commissioner also stated that the state government directed the institution’s management to determine what students in the humanities, sciences, residents, and non-residents could pay.

He stated that KASU had been directed to raise tuition fees from N24,000 to N26,000 to a minimum consolidated fee of N150,000.

He also stated that the minimum fees for national diploma (ND) and higher national diploma (HND) programs were set at N75,000 and N100,000, respectively.
The commissioner also stated that the national certificate in education (NCE) programs at COE Gidan Waya have been raised to N75,000.

“We want our tertiary institutions to offer courses like IT, cyber security, artificial intelligence, satellite technology and other skills that are in high demand globally,” he said.

“Government is ready to invest resources in tertiary institutions as long as they are ready to go along with the dynamics in society and the world at large.”

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Makarfi went on to say that the Nigerian constitution, as well as national and Kaduna state education policies, all call for free and compulsory basic education.

The commissioner stated that the state government currently provides free education from pre-primary to senior secondary schools, but that tertiary education must be paid for because it is not free anywhere in the world.

“In 2005, KASU management proposed over N60,000 as tuition fee, but the government at that time said indigenes should pay between N24,000 and N26,000, while the government augments the balance annually,” he added.

“The government was only able to pay the balance for the first two years and had to stop, leaving the university in a deep financial crunch.”

He stated that KASU administration was having difficulty running the school due to a lack of funds.

He emphasized that in the twenty-first century, the N26,000 tuition fee was grossly inadequate to generate the necessary funds to run the school, improve facilities and capacity to accommodate more students, and provide the best training and research.

The commissioner also stated that KASU was unable to accommodate the number of students who applied for various programs at the institution due to carrying capacity issues.
He claimed that the majority of applicants were being forced to attend alternative institutions, particularly private universities, where they must pay a minimum tuition fee of N750,000.

“So, why don’t we create an enabling environment, increase the carrying capacity of KASU for our children to remain at home, learn at home and pay less?” he said.

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“I want to tell our parents and other stakeholders that despite the increased tuition fees, we are still subsiding compared to what other universities are collecting. Students in our tertiary institutions pay the least fees in this part of the country.

“What we want from the general public is their understanding and cooperation for us to improve the quality of education at tertiary institutions.”

He said that for indigent students to pay the new fees without difficulty, the government had introduced needs-based scholarship, and increased the amount from less than N20,000 to more than N100,000.

He added that the state government equally introduced merit-based foreign scholarships for exceptionally brilliant students.

“Also, a loan scheme is also introduced for those who may not meet the needs-based criteria for scholarship to access and pay back in a future date without interest,” he added.

“Government will continue to play its role of employing more lecturers, improving the infrastructure, and fund research and other services.”

The development comes after KASU dismissed claims in some quarters that it raised the tuition fee for non-indigenes to N500,000.

It had also explained that the new tuition fee for the institution is still being deliberated on.

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