Academic work on hold as LASU resumes.

With the Lagos State government's approval and announcement of a 35 to 60 per cent reduction in the Lagos State University school fees on June 11, which was met with both commendation and condemnation
from stakeholders, the LASU management has come up with the precise amount now payable by students which ranges from N76, 750 to N158, 250.

The chairman, Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities LASU branch chairman, Dr Adekunle Idris, in a telephone conversation with Tribune Education, on Tuesday, in Lagos, has said neither lectures nor any other academic activities will commence and that ASUU LASU remained on strike indefinitely.

According to a press statement signed by the LASU Public Relations Officer, which was made available to
newsmen last Thursday in Lagos, all students of the university (full-time, part-time and postgraduate)
were directed to resume for the 2013/2014 academic session on Monday, June 23 to commence the
payment of school fees/ registration.
In the new school fee regime as approved by the institution's governing council, a 100 level student in the Adebola Adegunwa School of Communication will
now pay N103,250.00 and a 200 level student(Direct Entry) will be required to pay same fee, while
a 200 level returning student pays N88,250.00.

For the College of Medicine, a fresh student is expected to pay N115, 750.00, ditto a final year medical student, while a 200 level (Direct Entry) student in the same College pays N158, 250.00, representing a 36.4% reduction.

The approval also stipulated that a 100 level Engineering Student pays N115,750.00 , while returning students in 200-500 level will pay
N143,250.00, N143,250.00, N131,750.00 and N106,750.00 respectively.

New entrants (100 level) in the Faculty of Management Sciences and a final year (500 level) student will now pay N103,250.00, N113,250.00, N98,250.00, N98,250.00, N86,750.00 and
N86,750.00 respectively.

Faculty of Science also got a reduction of between 51.6% -42.3 per cent for Fisheries, Botany and
Zoology.
This ultimately cummulates into
N115,750.00, N118,250.00, N103,250.00, N113,250.00, N106,750.00 and N96,750.00 for
students in 100-500 level, inclusive of 200 level (Direct Entry) students.

"Students can decide to resume if they like, but ASUU LASU remains on strike and we will not be lecturing
or involve in other academic activities till government fully addresses the issues that caused us to embark on the strike.

"There are other activities the students can embark on if they decide to resume on campus, there is the library, the gym and other extracurricular activities, but our resolve is not to teach till the three main issues of reversal of school fees, the obnoxious no vacancy no promotion policy and the university
miscellaneous provisions Act are addressed."

According to him, the Professor Obafunwa-led administration in LASU is not a listening one, he
alleged that the vice chancellor was not providing government with the exact situation of things on the
campus, adding that even LASU Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) is also currently on strike. "Before, the vice chancellor used to say that the school fees reversal was a no go area, but the government has reduced it."

Idris, however said the current reduced amount was still not acceptable by the union or parents, the fee is still high "the people of Lagos say they want an affordable accessible education, irrespective of a person's income or background.

He added that the union, after its congress meeting will officially make
its position known as regards the reduced fee and other issues.

"We want to beg the people of Lagos State to appeal to the state governor to quickly ensure that the fee is
reduced because what they have recently approved is still high," the union chairman said.

He added that neither the state government nor the school management had been forthcoming enough in getting ASUU LASU's issues resolved, adding the issues could only be resolved if government returns to engage the union in constructive dialogue, wherein
the union will be given an open ground to really speak and be adeptly listened to.

The Students Union president of the institution, Nurudeen Temitope, told Nigerian Tribune Education a petition will be sent to Governor Babatunde Fashola on Monday, June 23, as regards the fees, which he has said remain unacceptable by students and was still barely be affordable for the poor masses.

"We have agreed to resume campus because students are tired of staying at home but academic work will still remain on hold. It is just going to be
like the period before we went on a recess. Students and lecturers were on campus but no lectures or other academic works were ongoing," Nurudeen said.

Asked if the union will encourage students not to pay, he said, "I cannot exclusively tell them not to
pay because the school management will use that against me, saying I am instigating the students
against management decision, so the ones who are willing to pay can go ahead and when a further
reduction is made, refunds can be made. In my own opinion, however, they can wait a bit while we work
at resolving the issues and getting the state government to further review downwards the fee."