The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has described the increase in tuition fees for students of Lagos State University, LASU, as unfair and retrogressive.

SERAP expressed concerns that increased fees limited access to education for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and directly violated the right to education, saying, “If the fees are allowed to stand, society as a whole will suffer.

According to the group, the increased tuition fees discriminate against poorer students. As most students wishing to attend LASU cannot do so on the grounds of their economic and social conditions, their right of access to education is clearly being severely curtailed, if not extinguished.

In a letter dated April 4, 2014 and signed by its Executive Director, Mr Tokunbo Mumuni, urged the State Governor to use his position to reverse the fees, saying, “by reversing the tuition fees, the government will be demonstrating its sacred duty to promote equality in the society, and showing respect for international law requiring states to move towards free higher education when setting fees policy.”

It further stated that a hike in fees cannot be in the best interests of the child, which is a fundamental principle entrenched in international law, in particular, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Nigeria has ratified.

Also the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to which Nigeria is a party provides that, higher education shall be made equally accessible to all on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education.