The Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Segun Odubela, says that the violent protest by students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) was due to the recent reduction of school fees which would take effect for the 2014/2015 session.
He noted that the protest started after the reduction of the school fees and not before the reduction by the government, adding that the Student Union was present at the briefing.
Speaking via the telephone on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, the Commissioner explained that the school fees had been increased by the past government of the state, and when the new governor got into power, he assured the students that there was going to be a reduction.
According to him, the Governor Ibikunle Amosun-led government fulfilled this promise and reduced the school fees by 10% and later “reduced by almost 50%”, a decision the student felt was not good enough.
He stated that there was a percentage reduction across board and added that “this deduction is going to cost the government over two billion naira.”
The Commissioner also mentioned that there were some universities in the state that still pay between 8,000 to 12,000 naira as tuition fees. He added that Ogun State has the higher number of institutions compared to Lagos State and the reduction, as approved by the State Government, was fair enough.
