The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to immediately abolish the payment of acceptance fees in tertiary institutions nationwide.
This was tabled during the plenary session on Wednesday.
The house noted that such payment has affected the enrolment of students into tetiary institutions in the country.
Adopting a motion sponsored by Chinedu Emeka Martins at plenary presided over by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, the lower legislative chamber mandated its Committee on Tertiary Education and Services to investigate the admission policies and practices of tertiary institutions in the country as they relate to the charge of acceptance fees in order to dismantle all obstacles to furtherance of studies in the country.
Martins, while moving the motion, stressed the need to stop the “exploitative practices of which could affect the aspirations of indigent Nigerians to study in universities.
The lawmaker argued that one of the factors contributing to poor access to tertiary education was the “predatory admission policy” being enforced by higher institutions, particularly the payment of non-refundable acceptance fees as condition precedent for admissions.
He claimed that many federal tertiary institutions charge as much as N30,000 per student, while some state and private institutions billed significantly more.
