By Jerry Uwah
Lagos state government has approved a downward review of the fees payable by students of Lagos State University (LASU).
The reduction which ranges from 34 to 60 per cent was announced yesterday at a press briefing by Governor Babatunde Fshola’s Special Adviser on Education, Otunba Fatai Olukoga.
Olukoga, who was flanked at the briefing by the Commissioner for Information and strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, and the governor’s special adviser on media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, did not give details of the fee reduction.
He stressed that the management of the university would work out the details, and called on students and staff of the troubled institution to cooperate with the management to ensure a hitch-free academic session.
Olukoga, who said the fees reduction was partially on compassionate ground, stressed that the state government would still operated its bursary awards for indigenes institutions of higher learning despite the reduction in fees.
He said students who were arrested during the protest rallies over the fees reduction and charged to court would be treated favourably. Watchers of the students protest are of the opinion that the state government might drop the charges against the students arraigned last week in a magistrate court for disturbing public peace.
There were fears however, that the state government’s offer, which some saw as “too little too late,” might not appease the protesting students as the reduction might not take the payable fees below N100, 000.
The students had insisted that nothing short of N45, 500 for returning students and N65, 000 for fresh students was acceptable to them.