Effect of Increase in Tuition Fee on Students and Their Sponsors

by Alheri Gideon Mshelia

    This increase has gotten to the point where the Government openly acknowledged that it can no longer saddle the responsibility of funding institutions alone.The Federal Government of Nigeria is increasingly finding it difficult to meet the high cost of funding tertiary education in Nigeria and if tertiary institutions in the country are to survive, there is an urgent need to seek out means of improving their funding. It is instructive to note that education is a right and not a privilege and if this is to become a reality in the Nigerian context then education needs to be subsidized and better funded at the tertiary level. In the face of the declining financial resource allocation to the education sector, there is the need for alternative channels of funding which will ensure qualitative education and graduates from the Nigerian education system. Many students now find it hard to continue schooling because the Tuition fee is too much and many sponsor themselves while others are sponsored by their parents who also have other children.

This increment of fees can cause decreased enrollment, many will decline admission because of tuition fee, some will accept but will not come to clear their admission because the fee is high and the economy is hard. The increase of dropout rate is much, therefore students who are struggling in school who can't afford handouts and foodstuffs are forced to dropout and that has disrupt their academic progress and future ambition.

Many go through financial stress you will see a student preforming well but once the fees is added the student starts to experience stress, anxiety and loses hope and such will affect the performance of the student. The increase of Fee has also limited access to education in Nigeria which is bad and inappropriate not everyone will be able to continue their education due to the increment of fees.

Now it affects the sponsors on the path that they can no longer afford to pay the fees because they do not only pay for a child but maybe two to four children and also feeding of all the family buying of clothes and also shelter so the burden becomes too much for them that they select the most intelligent to continue while the others hustle which is not suppose to be, some have to collect loans to sponsor their children in school, some face disgrace and insult just to meet up with the demand fee.

   Some ladies have been sent out for marriage because their sponsors can not longer afford to pay the fee so they are encouraged to leave school and marry, some marry in exchange for sponsorship from their partners sometime against their will they do it to continue their education.

Some students dropout of school but still remain in school to steal from the students sometimes the staff they just stick around to destroy people's peace they claim if they cant continue due to fees others will not have peace studying, some join accultic groups to fund themselves and family. This is terrible and deadly all because of tuition fee increment.

Young girls sell out their bodies for money to be able to have food stuffs and pay their fees since their sponsors can no longer afford it, many lost their lives in the process some got infected with various diseases others lost their dignity because of the increment of fees.

students now have to join both school and hustle to survive while their parents pay the fees if they can which affects student performance.

Although government has granted support through giving of the loan it hasn't changed the fact that the fees is still much and not everyone is benefiting from the loan which is still a pain to many. Schools have installed an option of paying a 50-50 fee per semester this is a good and helpful solution but when the fee is reading high it is still difficult because other essential needs have to be paid and parents also care for other children.

The best solution to improve the rate of education in Nigeria is to reduce the fees and people will be opportunied to study and many lost hopes will be rrenewed. And Nigeria will be a great nation.