The Federal Executive Council of Nigeria on Wednesday 28th November 2018 approved 30% reduction in the examination fee of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) from N5,000 to N3,500 while National Examination Council (NECO) was to have its examination fee slashed by 13.2% from N11,350 to N9,850.
Rights and Freedom Advocates (RIFA) eulogise the Federal Government (FG) for the gesture aimed at ensuring more students are enrolled in Schools and acquire relevant knowledge to improve our society.
However, RIFA berate those who are against the nation progress. These are advocates of oppression and denial of girl child rights to education especially the University of Ibadan International School (ISI) that is bent on foisting a dangerous agenda capable of endangering the country peace on peace-loving female Muslim students whose only offence was to seek for their right in a public university-owned secondary School.
RIFA observe that while FG reduction of examination fees was to encourage increase enrolment in the concerned bodies’ examinations, the repressive policy of ISI at denying willing female students right to use hijab is aimed at reducing the number of female students enrolment in our schools.
Thus contributing to the increasing number of out-of -school girls which under normal situation should be the concern of a patriotic ivory tower to ensure it tries all means to reduce the scourge.
Even though FG started on a good note, RIFA observe the commercialized examination fees of the professional bodies and urge the various professional bodies to emulate the government by reducing their examination fees which make it only affordable to the wealthy class while the brilliant downtrodden class members are prevented from qualifying as professionals despite their academic excellence.
Similarly, the various state governments should increase their budget to education so as to reduce their tuition fees to affordable level like the FG tertiary institutions. While appreciating the FG, RIFA urge other stakeholders in education to eschew dangerous agenda that could thwart the progress of the nation educational sector by being considerate and tolerant on the concern of others’ rights.
With this, the authority of ISI should expedite action on the approval of hijab for willing Muslim female Students in the School to increase girls’ enrolment in the School and other fanatics resisting freedom of religious for others should desist from such devilish and rancorous agenda.
