When Olakunle Olomide secured admission to study medicine at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), the joy of his parents knew no bounds, but when they were handed the bill of N650, 000 as tuition and other sundry expenses, their heart skipped a beat. The bill is exclusive of accommodation, feeding and others. They wondered why the bill should be that high in a public university.
For Babatunde Olorunfemi, his dream of going to university was cut short due to finance. With 263 in Unified Tertiary matriculation examination (UTME) and 64 per cent in Post-UTME, which qualified him for admission at Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), Olorunfemi’s father lost his job as a hotel manager in the Ijoko area of Ogun State, halting his dream of earning a university degree, as there was nobody to finance his education.
Although federal universities are almost tuition free, there are so many sundry charges that made the whole phrase of tuition free in public universities a ruse. The situation is almost the same in state-owned schools. So, if expenses by undergraduates in public universities are high, why the claim that federal universities are free?
Budget for education
NIGERIA has not been able to meet international standards regarding budgetary provisions for education and even has been doing far less than some of her neighbouring countries. In six years, Nigeria budgeted N3.6 trillion out of N55.3 trillion for education.
The period covers the year 2016 to 2021. In 2016, out of the total budget of N6.06 trillion, the sum of N369.6 billion or 6.7 per cent was allocated to public education. In 2017, N550 billion or 7.38 per cent was allocated to education out of N7.29 trillion, while in 2018, N605.8 billion, representing 7.04 per cent was earmarked for the sector out of N9.2 trillion budget. In 2019, N620 billion or 7.05 per cent was allocated to education out of the budget of N8.92 trillion, while in 2020; N671.07 billion or 6.7 per cent was given education out of N10.33 trillion.
Source: Guardian.ng
