My sister was talking about how free education was really free when she was in primary school before she was moved to kekotun in the days of jaconde in Lagos set, students had access to free stationary like books, pencils etc.
Delta State Government in Educational development and the pursuit of excellence has led to the conferment of the title of "Best State Government in the Development of Basic Education for 2012" by the Institute for Government Research and Leadership Technology.
The administration of Chief Lateef Jakande which saw the unequalled development of Lagos and gave free Education to many of these opportunists never had upto an annual income of a Billion Naira.
Today, with an average income of 30 Billion Naira monthly, Raji Fashola could openly boast that Lagos cannot afford free education for her citizens. Beyond even offering free education in Lagos state, one can imagine a whole BRF giving such a pedestrian argument to justify the increase in tuition at the Lagos State Univeristy, LASU.
Governor Babatunde Fashola insisted that his administration would not offer free education in Lagos State.
Fashola made the declaration at the event marking the 2,200 days of his administration held at the Lagos State University Auditorium, Ojo.
The governor also reiterated that the decision to increase tuition fees at the Lagos State University, LASU, was to bridge the gap in the quality of education received by the indigent and the rich students.
Fashola said the disparity in the school fees abroad and in the country impeded the quality of the knowledge acquired in the institution.
He said the government raised the LASU tuition fees to meet the required standard to enable the institution compete with other highly rated universities in Nigeria and abroad.
The governor also disclosed that his administration had committed millions of naira to assist indigent students in the institution.
Responding to the chants of free education by the students, Fashola said: My answer to you is this, I went to school in this country, I did not go out. Those who are projecting to you that we can afford to fund education free don't run a government. I do and I know better.
I know what people are spending in sending their own children abroad. In the United Kingdom, the minimum you will pay per year is 9,000 pounds to get education.
So, let us do some logical thinking, if we train a lawyer in the UK for 9,000 pounds and we train the same lawyer for N25,000 or N50,000 here. Are we buying the same quality? Children who come from poor homes already have a disadvantage. I think the biggest of disadvantage that we will do here is to give them inferior education.
My parents were not rich, my father was a journalist my mother, a nurse and I know how difficult it was to pay school fees, but I stand here today because of the education that I received. It can be an emotional problem, but do you want to hear me out?
Let's go to the logic of it. What is the logic? You want education to be free and we have issue about paying for it.Isn't it? But we are saying lets price it appropriately. If we have a university that is meant only for the children of the poor we do not have a school. If the rich could not bring their children here (LASU) but prefer to take them to Babcock University and so on, then there is problem here. We have fractionalised our society.
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