The Oppressor, The Oppressed and The Sharks

During the last semester holidays, we started hearing some news which was a little bad for students schooling in public universities. Public universities had started increasing school fees with 70-100%. It caused an outrage among students and parents. The main reason why most parents send their children to the federal universities (same as public) is because it is affordable and cheaper than the private and state unis. Also, in their time, most parents had attended federal universities and the quality of education then was superb. Now though, education has been watered down. Only a few percent of the lecturers are more concerned with imparting thorough knowledge to their students, the rest?? They are more focused on just earning enough money to put food on their children's table which I don't fault them for and then, there are a larger percent that are just downright lazy and just don't care. They would earn their pay either way.

So, when the school fees got increased, it sparked outcry and parents and students were seen on TV going for protests and all that. But it had been done already. After all, the universities are the powerful minorities. They have the power. If you couldn't pay the fees, you could just withdraw your kid from the school. It wasn't really their business. Somehow, the outrage died down and people just accepted it as their fate.

Now, my school has one of the highest paid school fees in the country, even though it is a federal University. The percent compared to other schools is higher. So, they had no reason to even increase the school fees. We got a memo though that our fees had been increased from #65,000 to #85,000. Added with other dues to be paid, it was a whooping #100,000 plus. Parents and students were already panicking. Then, it got debunked. It was just a rumor. So, everybody rested, albeit uneasily. Finally, only #2,000 was added. Everyone was okay with that. Students paid their fees and struggled to resume to school. The economic situation was just too harsh. There was hike in the transport fare and prices of food and products. Most average earners are now bordering on the line of poverty (I would leave this for another rant post).

Then, we resumed school, and after three weeks of schooling, a bill was proposed by the Vice Chancellor and his staff body to the Senate. The Senate comprises of mostly students of each faculty in the school. These students are meant to represent the voices of the majority students in the school. They are the selected few and are chosen in hopes that they will fairly pass bills that will favor the students. But then, what did we expect? I mean, we are all humans. And sometimes, we just fail at what we are chosen to do, because of our selfish desires.

The bill that was proposed was in the motion that all students are to pay #20,000 for an Internet Distribution Service in the school. It is a WiFi service that could be accessed immediately you stepped foot into the school. Of course, it would be a benefit to the students but the cost proposed was too high. #20,000 naira was too much for each student to pay. The students number in my school is more than 50,000. If #20,000 was paid, the total sum of money would be one billion naira plus. If each student paid lesser, they would still have enough to install the WiFi service. I find it strange that the students are even expected to fund the school’s infrastructural projects, instead of the Federal Government. That's not even my main concern here.

The Senate that we chose to speak on our behalf passed the bill into law. Their palms had been greased. They were exempted from paying the FIDS fee. And some weren't even going to pay the school fees. They passed the bill into law without the knowledge of the Student Union Government President and executives. And when she tried to speak out, she was silenced. And it is now a compulsory bill to pay.

Now, some readers of this rant post might say the students could protest for the bill to be reversed and believe me, we tried. A student revolutionary decided to organize a peaceful protest on behalf of the students. The air was already rife with tension and excitement. No one was comfortable with the exorbitant fee that had been added to our school fees. So, we were ready to go all in till our cries were heard. But guess what?? He was threatened!! He was threatened to stop the protest, unless he would be rusticated from school. His future would be bleak if he proceeded. Also, the first and last protest the school ever held, two students lost their lives to bullets shot by the police. So, he was probably also scared for his life and the lives of other students who might want to partake in the protest. The Student Senate just sat back and folded their hands. They weren't going to pay the fee after all. They had become sharks. Public school has become a tight rope strangling the necks of students and parents alike.

The student revolutionary had to end the protest plannings to save himself. Who wouldn't? We need someone who has nothing to lose to start the protest but everyone is scared. Everyone has something to lose. We are cowards sort of; taking everything that is being shoved down our throats by the higher powers that be. It is now a case of the oppressed and the oppressor. They said they were going to revise the bill. And they did and they came to the final conclusion that we would pay the FIDS bill every school year instead of once. And so our school fees has increased. And now, public schooling has become so expensive. I keep wondering how the system would be in the next few years. If things would change for better or for worse.

And here comes the end of my rant. Thanks for listening.

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