The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to the management of Federal University Dutse to kindly reduce the new registration fees announced recently in the interest of majority of the students.
The NANS Committee on New Universities Fees under the leadership of Comrade Ibrahim Ahmed made the appeal when they held a meeting with the management of the university over the reviewed fees.
Comrade Usman Ayuba who spoke on behalf of the NANS Committee said the Vice-Chancellor of Federal University Duse Professor Abdulkarim Sabo Mohammed is a very compassionate leader whose concern has always been the welfare of students adding that the review of the fees must have been one of the hardest decision for him to take.
He said they are aware that things are tight for the universities who just resumed after a prolonged strike but they are appealing to the authorities to take a second look at the fees and make room for adjustment. He thanked the management for the warm reception given to them.
In his response the VC,,Prof. Abdulkarim Sabo Mohammed commended the students for the maturity ànd peaceful approach they have adopted over the issue. He said compassion is his well known character adding that he has on several occasion gone out of his ways to assist students both openly and secretly.
Professor Abdulkarim said the reality of the time we are living in especially the galloping inflation necessitated the review of the fees in order for the university to be able to continue to deliver quality services to the students
The VC told the students that the monthly electricity bill from KEDCO alone when students are on campus is over N16 million while the overhead cost given to the university on a monthly basis is N8.7 million adding that if we decide to give the whole N8.7 million to KEDCO, we still be Left with a monthly debt of about N8 million . Right now the university owes KEDCO a lot of money.
According to him ,FUD is a science based University with several laboratories that need consumables adding that the department of Microbiology alone recently requested for consumables to the tune of N43 million. That’s just one department out of of many.
He said stationeries atimes takes up to N9 million, toiletries for sanitation of student hiostel can gulp up to N5million, we use to purchase drugs for the University Clinic drugs for about about N9 million, a drum diesel that used to be N48 ,000 is now is N198,000 and so on and so forth.
The VC said the students are the beneficiaries of most of these adjusted fees because it will be used for field trip, laboratory, ID cards, sporting events among several others adding the prices of everything has skyrocketed making the old fees unrealistic.
Prof .Abdulkarim said the decision to look for alternative funding by raising Internally Generated Revenue among others was a decision reached at the Committee of Vice-Chancellors meeting , Committee of Pro-Chancellor meeting and it was the topic of discussion during the NUC at 50 lecture..
The VC told the student body that he will take their request to the relevant university organs and he will get back to them soon
Meanwhile the University Council has a approved the holding of a stakeholders meeting to discuss issues affecting the university especially the upward review of registration fees . A date for the meeting would be announced soon.
