Jethro Ibileke/Benin
A Benin-based rights group, One Love Foundation, has given the Federal government a 7-day ultimatum to abolish all forms of admission acceptance fees into all tertiary institutions in the country.
The group said failure to abolish the fees, it would seek redress in court to put an end to it.
Coordinator of One Love Foundation, Patriot Patrick Eholor, disclosed this in a statement he made available to newsmen in Benin, noted that if abolished, it will further aww encourage learning.
He noted that the group has been overwhelmed with the outcry of the indigent students from across the country whose academic pursuit have been truncated due to their inability to pay the sum of N60,000 acceptance fee before they could be admitted into the universities.
“The attention of our foundation, a duly registered, non profit, non governmental human rights organization, has been drawn to overwhelming protests and outcry from students, parents and the general public of Edo State in respect of draconian, arbitrary and financially unbearable admission acceptance fees which newly admitted students are compelled to pay by Edo State educational institutions.
“Investigations by our Foundation indicate that these fees range between N40,000 to as much as N60,000 per student.
“These fees pose additional hardship and dire obstacles to the tertiary education aspiration of many well-meaning Edo youths and parents whose enthusiastic votes brought the present administration of His Excellency Godwin Obaseki to office as governor of Edo state,” he said.
The statement further appealed to the federal government to abolish admission acceptance fees in all tertiary institutions in the country or be prepared for a legal action.
It further accused the Federal government of being insensitive to the plight of the commoners adding that under this present administration, higher education has become the birth rights of the few rich Nigerians.
“Under the Buhari’s administration, the draconian admission acceptance fees of your ministry, which were not paid by your generation and mine, has turned the rights of many ordinary Nigerian citizens to educate their children and wards into a harrowing day-dream, contrary to what obtains in other parts of the federation.
“Subsequently, under the Buhari’s administration, only a very slim minority of Nigerians citizens who are either successful industrialists or privileged, government appointees, anointed contractors from outer space, treasury looters, fraud and politicians with deep pockets have the right to give higher education to their children,” the statement added.
“Our foundation hereby stands with millions of Edo students, their parents and families to resist, engage, negotiate and reclaim the right of these future leaders to affordable and qualitative education by any means necessary.
“This we shall undertake especially through the instrumentality of the law if and wherever dialogue fails,” the statement said.