The All-Africa Students’ Union (AASU) is calling for urgent steps to make education cheaper and easier to access across Africa. At the 2024 Africa Students’ Day in Abuja, AASU President Osisiogu Osikenyi Enyinnaya talked about how university fees in Africa now average $3,000 per year.
The event, remembering those who protested educational unfairness in apartheid South Africa’s Soweto massacre in 1976, was a chance for AASU to praise efforts to help students financially. President Enyinnaya specifically praised Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu for making laws for student loans and setting up an Education Bank to help poor students.
Enyinnaya also praised the Dangote Group, Africa’s second-biggest supporter of education after the Nigerian government. The group gives $24 million each year to Nigeria’s schools, helping with buildings, scholarships, and support for places like the BUK Business School and Aliko Dangote Business Complex at the University of Ibadan.
Even with Africa’s economy growing around 4.3 percent each year, Enyinnaya said governments there still don’t give enough money to education. He said they should use public money better and find new ways to pay for schools, like working with businesses.
At the event, AASU asked businesses across Africa to copy what the Dangote Group does for education and other important things. They hope this will make sure all students in Africa get a fair chance at learning in the 21st century.
