The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is considering making payment of its proposed N200 annual dues a requirement for students seeking mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
NANS National President, Akinteye Babatunde, disclosed this while explaining plans by the association to change how it collects dues from students. Babatunde said NANS was considering working with the NYSC and other agencies connected to students to establish a system through which students would pay the association directly.
“We will be working with NYSC and one of the criteria to be mobilised for camp is NANS dues receipt,” he said.
However, NANS has not indicated that the proposed requirement has been formally adopted by the NYSC. The association also did not specify when such an arrangement would take effect.
“This is not an avenue to stress the students further because the due is as low as 200 Naira per student in a year,” he said.
The proposed collection system would represent a departure from the current arrangement under which NANS receives funding through student union governments and institutional structures.
Babatunde said the association had struggled to receive expected capitation from student union governments, alleging that between 80 and 90 per cent of student unions were no longer in control of their dues.
“We are considering moving from getting the due to capitation to get it to have a platform where we can get it directly from students,” he said.
He alleged that some institutions release only a fraction of the funds collected to student unions, a situation he said had weakened NANS financially and limited its ability to intervene in student-related matters.
