The Kano State Government has expressed displeasure with the sudden increase of students’ registration fees by the management of Bayero University Kano, BUK.
The Chief Information Officer, Kano State Ministry for Higher Education, Sunusi Na’Isa made this known in Kano on Friday.
Na’Isa quoted the state Commissioner for Higher Education, Dr. Yusuf Kofarmata, as describing the development as alarming during a courtesy visit to the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sagir Abbas in his office.
According to the statement, the Commissioner said his visit was to strengthen the cordial relationship between the government and BUK, and also to discuss the sudden increase in registration fees.
”We are here to collaborate with the management of Bayero University, Kano, to look into possible measures to ameliorate the situation as the majority of students cannot afford to pay.
“Governor Abba Yusuf directed me to intimate you, discuss and find a lasting solution to it for the progress and development of education in the state,” the commissioner was quoted as saying.
Kofarmata said the government had already planned to sponsor 101 Kano indigenes to pursue post-graduate degrees at both local and foreign universities.
He said the state government would also give scholarships exclusively to married women to enable them to undergo post-graduate programmes, adding that to complement the efforts of the present administration in the education sector, BUK had a lot to offer to help achieve the government’s set objectives.
He appealed to the vice chancellor to consider reducing the registration fees for the sake of indigent students.
Responding, the vice chancellor who expressed hope that the visit would further cement the long existing relationship between the state government and the university, revealed that “We spend over N100 million every month to settle utility bills, besides other critical expenditures, BUK is actually charging only for services rendered to students, not tuition fees as claimed in some quarters,” the vice chancellor explained.
He said the university was charging far less fees compared to other universities like the University of Maiduguri, University of Lagos, Federal University, Dutse and Kaduna State University.
The vice chancellor lauded Gov Abba Yusuf for his foresight and concern towards the development of education in Kano State.
