Committee slashes Kwara poly school fees

The Joint ExecutiveLegislative Committee formed on the hike in tuition fees of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, has approved a reduction in fees payable by students of the institution.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin yesterday on the outcome of the committee’s findings, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ali Ahmad, said that the decision to reduce the tuition fees was based on need to reflect the policy of the state government on making education affordable to students.

Students of the institution had staged several protests against authorities over the hike in the tuition fees, just as the state government announced a reduction of N5,000 on the fees as a way to address the situation.

However, the state government had to form a joint committee of both the executive and legislative arms to find a lasting solution to persistent protests by the students.

The speaker, who said that the joint committee had directed the school to revert to schedule of fees as approved by the committee for the 2017/2018 academic session, added that the fees were much lower than what the management was to charge and what students paid during 2016/2017 session.

“Some students will now pay as much as N19,000 less than what they would have paid,” he said, explaining that all students who had paid above the 2017/2018 fees as just approved would be refunded the excess by the school.

The joint committee, headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, said that it was reminded of the state policy by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on December 4, 2017, “when he bemoaned the increase as beyond the reach of ordinary parents.