The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has given the management of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) Effurun, Delta State, a 24-hour ultimatum to make an unconditional reversal of the official tuition fee schedule for both new and old students.

In a statement, NANS President Chinonso Obasi decried the new tuition fee as officially released by the school management, describing it as anti-people.

Obasi said that he recalled that four years ago when he graduated in same institute, his last tuition fee was N14,000 and it is therefore embarrassing to see an official recommendation of about N81,000 and N91,000 fee respectively for old and new students.

"We understand that times are hard and the Nigerian economy isn't stable. That notwithstanding, Nigerian students must not be used as a means of increasing internal generated revenue," he said.

Obasi also pointed out that the act establishing PTI was exceptionally different from other conventional tertiary institutions in Nigeria. He said PTI is a special institution whose mandate is to train specialised technicians to meet up the global competition in the oil and gas industry.

"My administration hopes to partner with the PTI management to take advantage of the President Mohammadu Buhari anti-corruption strides to expose the level of abandoned projects, infrastructural decay, lack of adequate training of teachers and poor funding of the institute, not wanting to feed fat on the harmless, helpless, marginalised and lawful Nigerian students," Obasi said.

NANS also called on the relevant stakeholders in PTI and the Minister of Petroleum to advice the PTI management to unconditionally reverse "this devilish tuition fee schedule within 24 hours or the National Secretariat of NANS shall be relocated to the institute."

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