Public University Privatization: Ringing the Death Knell on Indigent Student Education (1)

Public Universities | I had a heated argument today with somebody who summarized the positions of the 3 leading presidential candidates in a satirical manner. He is in favour of the candidate that is in support of the candidate rooting for the privatization of public universities.

I won’t name the characters involved, namely the candidate in favor of privatization and his apologist, as well as myself, the author of this post, because we’re all partisan when it comes to 2023 politics.

Notwithstanding my overtly partisan position, I will try to be objective as much as possible.

Privatization of public universities is serving as a death knell for the right of indigent students to benefit from university education. This is my argument.

A lot of people are totally ignorant of the demands of ASUU. They think it’s all about them. I’m in support of ASUU because they are putting on the front burner the decay of our universities’ infrastructure and equipment. You may not believe it, but the equipment used in the university departments of engineering, surveying, medical, pharmaceutical, and science is not only obsolete, but the ones in use have virtually broken down. These are the facilities ASUU wants re-equipped, repaired, or totally upgraded. I don’t understand how you develop technologically with a university that lacks relevant equipment to train your critical manpower. You can’t fault ASUU on this. Secondly, the government told ASUU if it wanted revatilization of universities, it would raise the cost of university education, more or less privatize university education. As it is today, the tuition fee is N37,000; accommodation is N12, 000; feeding is borne by the students. The government therefore proposed a wicked and scandalous sum of N300,000 per semester. On behalf of the students, ASUU rejected that. The President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodekie, said the minimum wage is N30,000 and can somebody earning that kind of amount pay for two of his children in university? Even with the sum of N49, 000 being charged,some parents cannot afford it and are withdrawing their children from school.

I’m really shocked that those who benefited from free education from our visionary and compassionate regional and state leaders will contemplate the privatization of university education. It is the height of heartlessness and wickedness towards the children of the poor.

This has always been my argument that instead of subsidizing education and agriculture, we are subsidizing corruption and wastage. Furthermore, if we can cut down on expensive governance by 50%, we can fund these critical sectors.

Let me give a synopsis of wastage and corruption. The budgetary allocation for feeding Aso Rock is N5 billion, the first lady’s office is N3 billion, and the cost of maintaining the 12 presidential fleet from 2015 to 2022 is N61.12 billion, or N8.7 billion per year. Presidential Vila Clinic budgetary allocation for 2015: 3.94b, 2016, 3.87b, 2017, 331.70m, 2018, N1.3b( all these figures are sourced from the budget office). A whopping sum of $26.5b has been spent on the TAM of refineries for the past 7 years( source: Guardian, 21st March 2021). The conversion to Naira is N12.750 trillion, using N500- $1 and these refineries aren’t working. The total annual payment of salaries and other entitlements to 1586 redundant employees of four refineries is N69 billion (source: NNPC audited statement). If we have human blood running in our veins, we must weep for our nation’s criminal wastage and corruption. How much did ASUU propose for the revitalization of our universities? You are spending N12.750 trillion on non-functional refineries and N69 billion annually on the payment of salaries of 1586 redundant refinery staff. Although it is from the NNPC, I do not believe the figures for salary payment; some people are simply covering for corruption.

With the monumental corruption and wastage highlighted in our public expenditures, it’s criminal and the height of wickedness for anybody to contemplate the privatization of our universities.
India has a population of 1.4 billion without any known liquid or solid minerals, yet even though higher education is not free, education is highly subsidized. Again, fees charged for attending public institutions are very minimal and are funded by the state and central government. In fact, students who are poor are able to attend public schools for free. Apart from education being free up to secondary school level, the government highly subsidizes higher education, grants credits and provides scholarships for students who cannot pay tuition fees. In Russia, the government provides education free at all levels, and even private schools that charge about 1% charge a very minimal amount. Foreigners can study in Russia for free. In Denmark, Norway, Norway, Finland, Ireland, and Sweden, education is free.

Most developed countries, even America, which is the most capitalistic country, sometimes put smiles on the faces of poor and indigent students  in public universities with provisions for student loans and credit facilities.

With the obvious rise in pauperization of the Nigerian citizens, thus making us the poverty headquarters of the world and a lot of people taking the route of crime and criminality, some people will want to add more yoke to the citizens.

Part 2 of this post will provide graphic examples of how government policies kill the aspirations of poor students.

theGazetteNGR