Pioneer students of the two newly established universities in Lagos State – Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Ijanikin/Epe and Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) Ikorodu, on Wednesday, got a Christmas gift from the state Governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.
It came in the form of tuition fees slash, of up to 65% for pioneer students of the two universities.
The management of the two universities had proposed a tuition fee of N195,000 for pioneer students billed to resume for this new academic session before Sanwo -Olu slashed it to N68,000.
The governor was said to have considered the present state of the nation’s economy and its impact on parents before arriving at that decision
The news of the reduction was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday, and signed by the Special Adviser on Education Tokunbo Wahab.
Wahab in the statement stated that Governor Sanwo-Olu said his administration would not only continue to give necessary support to the two universities but would work towards making them one of the best in the country.
While commending the governor for the kind gesture, Adeboruwa of Igbogbo Kingdom, HRM. Oba Abdul Semiu Orimadegun Kasali, noted that the reduction in the proposed tuition by the governor was a big relief as more and more parents from the State would be able to send their children to universities to acquire university education.
The monarch who described the establishment of the two additional State Universities as a blessing, commended Sanwo-Olu and his team for bringing a lot of reforms to the State’s education sector, adding that the State government’s continued support and funding of the State owned institutions have helped them to excel on all fronts.
In the same way, Baale of Parafa in Ikorodu LGA, Chief Jamiu Odusanya described the governor’s gesture as a welcome development.
He thanked the government for assisting indigent students to meet their university aspirations, adding that the reduction would promote the growth of varsity education in the State.
Also speaking, Secretary of Ijede Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Semiu Olakunle Olambiwonu, urged parents to take full advantage of the government gesture to send their children to either of the universities to acquire more knowledge.
He noted that history would be kind on Sanwo-Olu administration on various reforms embarked upon to reposition the State education to its present status.
A Clergy, Pastor Ogunsanya Olukoga of the Redeem Christian Church of God RCCG, while commending the governor for his people-oriented programmes urged prospective pioneer students of the two institutions to reciprocate the State government gesture by working hard and shun violence or similar vices when they resume for the fresh academic programme.
In his reaction, President of the defunct Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Okeychukwu David, a 300-level student of Mathematics and Economics expressed happiness to hear the news.
He said his major fear before now was how to further his education after his NCE programme. He said many of his colleagues that completed their NCE programmes could not further their education to the university level due to financial constraint, noting that with the new reduction, governor Sanwo Olu had helped to break the financial barrier to university education.
Also, his counterpart in LASUSTECH, Aderemi Balogun who is an HND student of Business Administration Part 2, said students of his institution were thrown into wild jubilations when they heard the news .
Balogun who commended governor Sanwo-Olu for his kindness said the new tuition was pocket friendly and affordable.” We were so happy to receive the news as expectations were high before that the State government might increase the fees considering the fact that they were new universities. We owe Mr Governor a lot of gratitude both for the reduction in the tuition and lot of infrastructure projects on-going on our campus,” Balogun stated.
It would be recalled that the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abubakar Rasheed on February 8 handed over certificates for the two new universities – Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) and Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUST) to Sanwo-Olu at the commission’s headquarters in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.