LASU fee hike, pro-Boko Haram policy –Falana

A human rights activist, Femi Falana, has described the tuition increase in the Lagos State University by the Lagos State Government as immoral and illegal.

He likened it to the menace of the Boko Haram insurgents in the northern part of the country.

Falana was the guest speaker at the 18th National Delegates' Conference of the Academic Staff Union of Universities held at the University of Ibadan.

Falana said the new fee was beyond the reach of the children of the poor who struggled to get education in the state.

“It was unjustifiable that the civil servants at the state secretariat in Alausa who worked for the state to generate over N20bn Internally Generated Revenue monthly but earn N18,000 as minimum wage, will not be able to train their children in the state-owned university.

“If you are increasing fees beyond the reach of the children of the poor, that is a Boko Haram policy, because the action is against western education. I reminded the governor (Babatunde Fashola) that he did not pay when he was a student when I met with him. At Alausa, the minimum wage is N18,000, if a public officer does not steal money from the state, he cannot maintain a student in LASU.

“If your public officers' children cannot attend your own institution, what is the relevance of government? For me it is immoral and illegal. We must find a mechanism of ensuring that the children of the poor can access tertiary education in Nigeria,” said Falana.