The Kaduna state government has announced the downward review of tuition fees in state-owned tertiary institutions.

Gov. Uba Sani announced the measure during an interactive session with newsmen in Kaduna on Monday.

Mr Sani said that the review was in response to public outcry over the current fees in state-owned tertiary institutions and their effects on school enrolment and retention.

Giving details of the review, he said that the N150,000 charged by the Kaduna State University was reviewed downward by 30 per cent to N105,000.

Others were Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic from N100,000 to N50,000.

For college of education, Gidan Waya, the fee came down from N75,000 to N37,500.

The fee charged by Shehu Idris College of Health Sciences and Technology, Makarfi for Higher National Diploma (HND) courses was reviewed from N100,000 to N70,000.

In a similar vein, the fee for National Diploma (ND) courses in the same institution moved down from N75,000 to N52,000.

For Kaduna State College of Nursing, the fee was reviewed from N100,000 to N70,000.

The governor described the measure as his government’s palliatives to cushion the effect of the petroleum subsidy removal and its harsh economic effects on the people.

He said that the heads of tertiary institutions, in conjunction with the ministry of education, obtained relevant information on the extant fee regime in state-owned tertiary institutions.

He said: “At the end of their assignment, they made the following observations and recommendations.

“That the extant fee regime in the state-owned tertiary institutions is burdensome and has led to a significant decline in student enrolment.

“That the extant fees have made many students to either abandon the pursuit of tertiary education or move to alternative institutions.’’

He said that to reverse the ugly trend, “it is imperative that a competitive fees model is adopted in our tertiary institutions”.

He said that the competitive fees model “responds to the current realities and promotes access to quality education”.

Mr Sani reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the welfare of the people.

“My administration will continue to take all the necessary measures to ensure access to free and quality education for every child in the state from primary to secondary school,” he said.

He also said that expanding access to higher education, enhancing teachers’ welfare and teaching standards as well as improving school infrastructure had built ICT competence in students from the basic education level.

The governor further said that the state government had intensified investment in technical and vocational education in the state.

(NAN)