Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has intervened in the school fees controversy at Delta State University, Abraka, with a directive to the management of the institution to liaise with the students’ union in order to bring down the fees to an acceptable level.
Okowa gave the directive after inspecting the ongoing projects at the University of Delta, Agbor, and the Trauma Centre, Agbor.
He was accompanied on the inspection by the vice chancellor, Professor Stella Chiemeke and members of the governing council of the institution.
According to the governor, the state government does not fix school fees for its institutions, but only intervened in the current crisis considering the prevailing hardship in the country.
He noted that “students who are natives of Delta State do not pay tuition, but other development levies,” while calling the people of the state to the knowledge that the fees could not remain as they had been over the years.
He said the fees being charged by state-owned tertiary institutions were meant for the improvement of standards in the institutions.
“We had made it clear from the outset that the move is in the best interest of the state; it is in a bid to upgrade the standards of some of our institutions and ensure that our children have access to quality tertiary education.”
Governor Okowa explained that while the state government was paying the salaries and allowances of lecturers and other members of staff in the universities, they also should be able to cater for their day-to-day running cost.
“We ensure that the lecturers are fully paid by the state government, but the universities are meant to cater for their daily administration running cost,” he stressed.
On the projects inspected, the governor expressed satisfaction with the level of work being done, stating that the contractors had promised to deliver the projects on time.
“It is our desire to provide a proper administrative building for the university and for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences which were totally rehabilitated because they were in bad shape.
“There have been a lot of changes at the University of Delta, Agbor, and it is our desire to improve the level of infrastructure in the next one year,” he said.
On the Trauma Centre, Okowa commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its partnership on the project, saying that it would offer best services for all trauma cases within the area.