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President Bola Tinubu has approved provision of buses to the students’ bodies of all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country as part of his administration’s effort to ease living for Nigerians and make education affordable.
The new approvals were contained in a statement on Monday by the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake.
The President’s approvals trailed expressed public discomfort by students and parents over the harsh realities of fuel subsidy removal on one hand and the recent decision of some federal universities to increase their various fees.
President Tinubu had responded to the outcry that trailed universities’ fees increments, reminding the public that all federal universities remain tuition-free.
He, however, urged administrations of various tertiary institutions to avoid arbitrarily increasing fees, advising that such plan to increase be suspended for now in consideration of the mood of the economy.
“In furtherance of his desire to ease the burden of the fuel subsidy removal on students of higher institutions of learning, President Bola Tinubu has approved provision of buses to the students’ bodies of all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.
“The desire of the President is to see that students can access their campuses without much difficulty as a result of higher transportation costs.
“The provision of the buses will also remove the burden of additional cost of daily commuting on parents and guardians.
“In line with his promise to ensure no Nigerian student abandons his or her educational pursuits as a result of lack of money and economic circumstances of their parents, President Tinubu has also approved the removal of all restrictions on the students’ loan to make it available to any student or household that may desire it.
“Similarly, President Tinubu has directed the authorities in all Federal Institutions of higher learning to avoid arbitrary increase in sundry fees payable and where possible defer further increase so that parents and students don’t face too many difficulties.
“While it is important to reiterate that President Tinubu has directed release of over 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains to families in 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the government is working to ensure that vulnerable students can also benefit from conditional cash transfers and food distribution.