Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, has approved a N50,500 reduction in fees for indigenes at the state-owned Kwara State University, Malete, with effect from next session, according to a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Communications, Dr. Muyideen Akorede.

With the reduction, qualifying students would now pay N99, 500. Students of Kwara State origin had been paying N150, 000 per session while KWASU students from other states pay N185, 000.

Ahmed said the gesture was to ease the burden of fee payment on parents and guardians. He added that it was the first part of a phased programme of palliatives designed to cushion the impact of the increase in the pump price of petroleum on the people of the state. He said the palliative programmes started with the education sector, adding that his administration placed high premium on educational growth, human capital and youth development

Ahmed also stated that KWASU students would benefit from a new mass transit system under which government will allocate two new buses each on the routes to the university as well as to that of the University Of Ilorin and the Kwara State Polytechnic.

The governor said the first set of the palliatives programmes was targeted at youths because they constituted the largest segment of the state population and because of his administration's emphasis on youth empowerment.

He said additional measures targeted at the larger population would be rolled out once the modalities were concluded. The governor restated his determination to consistently implement proactive and timely welfare programmes to improve the well-being of the people of Kwara State.

Meanwhile, the President, National Congress of Nigerian Students, Mr. Abdulfatah Abdulsalam, has described the package as a welcome development. He added that NACONS had insisted that government should make education affordable as well as qualitative.

He, however, appealed to the state government to consider non-indigenes in the fee reduction so that they could also have a sense of belonging and would not be distracted academically by lack of funds.

He said, "What government has done so far is a positive step. However, what we expect is general favour. By virtue of the benefit as a palliative from subsidy, it will be better for the government to let the reduction go round. It should reach both indigenes and non-indigenes."

In a related development, the National Association of Nigerian Students and the National Association of Kwara State Students as well as the Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, have lauded Ahmed for the 30 per cent reduction.