COST OF STUDENT’S TERTIARY EDUCATION IN ANAMBRA STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

The study: cost of students’ tertiary education in Anambra State, Nigeria was conducted

todetermine the  cost  of  students’ tertiary education in Anambra state. The  methodology adopted for the study was a descriptive survey research design. The target population for the study was 23,161 students from two universities and polytechnics in the state. The sample size for this study was 400 students from both private and public tertiary institutions in Anambra state. The sampling technique adopted for the study was multi-stage. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire designed titled “Cost of Students’ Tertiary Education Questionnaire (COSTEQ)”. The instrument was subjected to test of internal consistency using Cronbach Alpha procedure to determine the internal consistency and a reliability coefficient of 0.77 was obtained. Five research questions were stated to guide the study and were analysed using simple mean while T-test and Kruskal Wallis Test statistic were used to test the four null hypotheses stated to guide the study. The findings revealed the following:  the  average  cost  of  student’s  tertiary  education  in  Anambra  State  is  N270,

309.675,the average cost of tertiary education according to gender is N230,341.908 for male students and N 300, 769.692 for female students in Anambra State, the average cost of students’  tertiary education according  to  school  type I  is N335, 416.884 for University students and N236, 016.565 for Polytechnics students in Anambra State. The average cost of students’ tertiary education according to school type II is N234, 765.057 for students attending public tertiary institution and N338, 544.964 for students attending private tertiary institution in Anambra State. The average cost of students’ tertiary education according to year of study is as follows: First year N319, 482.929, Second Year N207, 268.413, Third year N250,873.333 and Fourth year N260,833.152 respectively. However, the hypotheses test showed that: the mean cost of students’ tertiary education in Anambra state is significantly different  to  gender.  The  mean  cost  of  students’  tertiary  education  in  Anambra state  is significantly different according to school type I (universities and polytechnics).The mean cost of students’ tertiary education in Anambra state is significantly different according to school type II (public and private). The mean cost of students’ tertiary education in Anambra state is significantly different to students’ year of study. With respect to the findings, the researcher recommended that the government of Anambra State should encourage students to obtain tertiary education by trying to support them with funds. The government and the civil  society organizations should  come together to  look  into the  cost  of  university  and polytechnic education. The government should try her best to discuss with the private tertiary institution to curtail their charges as this would help to reduce the stress parents and students pass through to afford the cost of tertiary Education. Finally, the government should also look at the cost of tuition and other charges incurred by first year students because it is very high compared to what other levels of undergraduate incur.

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CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

Background of the Study

The world today is changing for better and opportunities made available to human beings or people are on the increase. The opportunities of life, development of a nation’s economy and every other thing did not just come to light without the knowledge acquired from effort put into education. The knowledge acquired from education by people has been seen as an empowerment to them. In the same vein, it  has made the citizen of a nation to become civilized, and understand the social and cultural environment and to compete for survival. Despite the good things education could give and bring, it acquisition is not easy as a result of its cost. Many people today have become aware that education is the key and they are struggling to meet up with cost of it in order not to miss opportunities that may come in the future. This implies that education is an effective tool for everybody in this globalized and developing world we live in today. Education, according to Fafunwa (2002) is all effort, conscious and direct, incidental and indirect, made by a given society to accomplish certain objectives that are considered desirable in terms of the individual’s own needs as well as the needs of the society where that education is based.

Kpolovie (2002)  asserted  that  education  helps  to  attain    a  nation’s    goals  through the production of enlightened citizenry that are equipped with knowledge, abilities, skills, competence, right attitude, values and morals. Education, therefore, is an instrument for national development, and the interaction of persons and ideas are all aspects of education. Education, especially at higher level, contributes directly to economic growth by making individual workers more productive and leading to the creation of knowledge, ideas and

technological innovations. Education means a lot things to different people; ways to a better

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career, a course to a better income and avenue to an increased social mobility.    There are four levels of education in Nigeria, namely: Early childhood (pre-primary); Basic Education (9  years)  –  comprising  Primary and  Junior  Secondary Education,  which  is  compulsory, universal and free; Senior secondary (3 years); and Tertiary Education. The focus of this study is on the last stage of formal education which is tertiary education. Tertiary education refers to any type of education pursued beyond the secondary school level. This includes diplomas, undergraduate and graduate certificates and associate bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees for both part-time and regular students. It is formal and non-compulsory in Nigeria. However, this study focuses on regular undergraduate students. Tertiary education is perceived  by  many  secondary  schools  in  Nigeria  today as  a  passport  not  only  to  self fulfilment but also a ladder to higher socio-political status in society. Tertiary education is also known as higher education and they can be used interchangeably. Higher education refers to all organized learning activities at the tertiary level. Tertiary education system in Nigeria can be obtained in Universities, Polytechnics, Institutions of technology, Colleges of Educations, Monotechnic as well as Colleges, Professional and specialized institutions,(IAU,

2000).

At the present, there are 138 Universities, 40 Federal, 39 states and 59 private recognized by the National Universities Commission (NUC, 2015) 78 polytechnics, 27 monotechnics, and

281 Colleges in various specific institutions in Nigeria.  Despite the increase in the number of tertiary institutions, access is  not guaranteed; this  is because accessibility is primarily a function of cost.  The tertiary level of education therefore, has the primary responsibility of equipping the citizens with vital skills which empowers the students to contribute maximally to national development for greater productivity and accelerated development in the nation. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN, 2014) in her National policy on Education (NPE) spelt out the goals of territory education to includes:

-Contribution to national development through high level relevant manpower training

-Proper development and inculcate values for survival of the individual and society.

-To develop the intellectual capacity of individuals to understand and appreciate their local and eternal environments.

-Acquire both physical and intellectual skills which will enable individual to be self- reliant and useful members of the society.

– Promote and encourage scholarship and community services,

– Forge and cement national unity and

-Promote national and international understanding and interaction.

Tertiary education has the statutory of imparting and worthwhile knowledge in the learners so as to equip him to contribute meaningfully to the nation’s growth and development. It equally has the role of imparting in the learner imparting the spirit of commitment, good morals and values. Abubaka (2009) asserts that higher educational institutions also represent one of the viable platform for character training and leadership development for a nation. Higher education (HE) is the main source for producing the human capital required for knowledge production. Higher education, therefore, plays a crucial role in enhancing a nation’s human capacity to absorb and use knowledge. The role of higher institution in human capacity development has been linked with globalization residual effect, positive externalities/affect, innovations/creativity (Olugbena, 2003).

Education at the higher level is critical and essential to the sustenance of economic growth and development of Nigeria. Borko and Putman (2010) are of the view that the highest form of man power or capacity building is best handled at the tertiary education level where there

specialized  fields  in accordance with the  needs  of the  nation as  well as the  vocational expectation and inspirational needs disposition of the individual concerned. An uneducated society cannot progress and that is why it  is important that tertiary education should be accessible to everyone both rich and the poor. Ajaji and Afolabi (2009) affirmed that tertiary education could be perceived as an indispensible tool which would not only assist in meeting the  nation’s  social,  political,  moral,  cultural  and  economic  aspiration,  but  would  also inculcate in the individual, knowledge, skills, dexterity, character and desirable values  that would foster the national development and self actualization.   Higher institutions are major source for producing the human capital required for knowledge production. It can increase innovative capacity of the economy and the new knowledge on new technologies, products and processes and consequently promotes growth as presently in theories of endogenous growth (Baxer and Birk, 2004).   Yet, all these objectives are sometimes placed beyond the reach of man especially in Nigeria by cost of education.

Demand for tertiary education has come from a variety of sources such as rising aspirations, changing patterns of employment and careers and rising incomes have made some continuation of education beyond the secondary level. The demand for tertiary education is not only an investment in human capital, but also a pre-requisite for good employment. Baxter and Birks (2004) stated that employers are willing to invest more in educated workers if  they  can  obtain  a  return  on  that  investment  through  higher  productivity.  A  tertiary education is an investment that pays off overtime.  Investment in education (either private or social) depends on the proportion of resources allocated to education and the method of financing cost of education. Education investment project involves money spent as well as the alternative forgone in order to produce education, be it explicit cost (in form of cash payment) or implicit cost (use of resources with corresponding cash payment). Nevertheless, the associated costs for students to attend institutions of higher learning must be properly

managed to make institutions of higher learning more accessible. There are strident calls for enrolment  into  tertiary  institutions  in  order  to  promote  the  production of  middle  level manpower managers. Access to education in its full and broad sense means free and unlimited/unhindered/unfettered opportunities at each level of education to obtain knowledge, skills, and abilities available at that level needed to optimally participate and contribute to development in the society (Okeke, 2009). He further maintained that this definition of access to education covers the threshold of access/enrolling, attending and completing and possibly transiting to the appropriate level of education. Rivard and Raymond (2004) conducted a more sophisticated analysis in their study among 18-to-20 year old students. They found that tuition and enrolment are significantly and negative related. Coelli, Neill, Johnson & Rahman (2004) and   Kwong     (2002)   found   that   rising     university tuition had a slight but significantly detrimental effect  on  low-  income  youths.  Knong’s (2002)  examination of medical  students  revealed  a  decline  in  the  proportion  of  students  from  low-income background and King (2004) found similar results with respect to Ontario law schools. Both studies,  however,  examined  students currently studying  professional programs.  But  they could not comment on factors affecting students who chose not to apply. In contrast, Frenette (2005) investigated the relationship between tuition fees increases and participation of professional programs (medicine, dentistry and law) among recent university graduates, thus incorporating students who are “at risk” of attending. Frenette found out that in Ontario, with the largest increase in fees, middle class students were the least likely to enrol. He concludes that under tuition increase, professional programs are affordable only for those who can finance their education independently (high income families) or who qualify for financial assistance (low income but not middle income group). Obama is rightly focused on the middle class — incomes for upper income brackets have risen faster than the rate of tuition, so  that   for   those  groups  the  cost   of  tuition  as  a   fraction  of  household  income

has actually come down (Katsouleas, 2013).  However in a study conducted   by Christofides, Cirello and Hoy (2001) found that tuition did not negatively affect participation for any income groups, including low-income groups. However, their analysis covered 1975 to 1993, a period of relatively little change in tuition. Ipsos-Reid (2001) investigated on financial barriers to post-secondary education among recent secondary school graduates. He found out that 44% indicated that high tuition fees and other costs prevented them from attending; Foley (2001) found that the main reason cited by largest proportion of recent secondary school graduates for not embarking on postsecondary programs was that they did not have enough money, because of high tuition fees.

Some have argued that for increase in enrolment to occur, institutions of higher learning would have to lower what it costs to produce their students. In Nigeria, higher education enrols  a  very modest  4% of relevant  age cohort. This  compares  poorly with economic competitors such as South Africa (17%), Indian (7%), Indonesia (11%) and Brazil (12%) (Task force, 2000). Hartnett (2000) found out while the value of government allocation for higher education declined by 27%, enrollment grew by 79%.  Canada reports that students from low-income families are less than half are likely to participate in university than those from high income families. The cost of higher education to students has a direct impact on access, so that increases in cost are understandably of great concern to students, parents, and education policymakers.

The cost of higher education is strongly influenced by many norms related to the various aspects of the educational institutions like the level of teachers’ salaries, teacher-student ratios,  provisions  of  physical  infrastructure,  administrative  staff,  affiliation  norms,  etc. Studies revealed that American’s higher education system is gaining a reputation for high costs and large inequities. In 2002, the U.S spent $491 billion on higher education and twice

as much per student than comparable industrialized countries. Scholars have offered several explanations  for  these  high  costs  including  faculty  salaries,  administrative  bloat,  and amenities arms race. There are other factors that affect the cost of tertiary education in Nigeria. They include; money to maintain the school. The reason for this may be because the money allocated to school is not enough to cater for other responsibilities in the school, with the  ever  increasing  number  of new  students  being  admitted  into  the  school.    Nigerian government  finds it  difficult  to  sufficiently fund her tertiary  institutions because of the growing enrolments without  corresponding  impressive  quality  funding due  to  economic depression. Technological advances also determine the cost of tertiary education in many ways. First rapid changes in technology in the world around us force these changes in what colleges, polytechnics and universities teach, just as a hospital needs to keep buying the latest medical  equipment  to  increase  its  quality  of care  for  patients,  tertiary  institution  must continually purchase the latest technology to increase the quality of education (Li, 2013). The cost of education can also be affected by lack of financial resources necessary to maintain educational quality in the mist of significant enrolment explosion. The apparent shortage of funds available to tertiary education has been responsible for high tuition.   The cost of educating students tend  to increase as a result of money losing value over a period of time and this is mostly common during inflation.  Student might be made to bear a major cost of their fees. If costs for an institution increases, tuition charged may also have to increase to cover the extra cost if no additional revenue can be obtained from the other sources. The fees increment has been justified by the tertiary institutions management as a means of raising the internal revenue of the institutions to cater for the burgeoning expenses. However, as the price of education rises, students and educators alike are looking for ways to ensure the affordability of higher education.

The cost of higher education is an issue of ongoing importance to students, families and campus leaders in congress and the administrators. The cost of education is price that an individual or group of people pay to acquire education or to provide education. In fact, all the stake holders bear the cost of education either as the suppliers of activity or as the demanders/users  of  activity/service.  This  study  anchors  on  the  demanders  of  tertiary education that is the undergraduate students.  Owolabi, (2006) defines educational cost as all forms of resources used up in the process of providing education for an individual or for a group of individual. The costs of human capital investment include direct monetary cost such as tuition fees and the forgone labour market earnings during the time the individual is studying and indirect cost in the form of the effort that the individual has to exert in order to acquire human capital through education. The cost of education is made up both direct and indirect cost.  Direct  cost  is the  monetary value  of all tangible  and  intangible resources invested in education. The direct cost faced by a household in sending a child to tertiary include expenditures for tuition, required books and educational materials, examination and admission fees required to gain access  to the institution. Indirect (opportunity) or real cost of education is the alternative opportunities that have to be sacrificed or forgone in process of providing education services. Learners bear indirect cost referred to as to as opportunity cost. These are estimated income that could have been earned by students if they have worked full time. Students opportunity cost may include time devoted to studying which otherwise could have spent for leisure or with the family. Students will incur an indirect cost because he or she will not be able to work while attaining tertiary education (Veennieer,2001).The cost of tertiary education for students include more than the expenditure for tuition.   The student forgoes the opportunity to work and contribute to the family income. The earnings and experience given up to continue education are significant, possibly greater than the tuition that must be paid at that period. The cost of education can be measured in terms of money; it

can also be measured in terms of opportunity cost in the acquisition of education. However, this study will focus on direct cost of education which is measured in monetary terms. The costs of education include not only expenditures by government, but also spending by other economic sacrifices by the family and student. The costs of student living vary according to whether the student lives at home with parents or with a spouse or in a student’s flat or hostel. The cost will similarly vary according to the prevailing standard of student living. A study in Canada revealed that the average cost for a year’s fee can range from $5000 to $18000 which in most institutions is paid on registration day. The tuition covers two semesters which equate to eight months of academic study. Student should also budget for the living cost which varies depending on location and the lifestyle a student adopts. Student should equally budget for  the  rent, travel,  course  material  such  as  book,  food,  laundry,  healthcare  and  social expenses (Cost of studying in Canada, 2013). Student’s contributions to the multitude of fees, tuition in  state and private  institutions include  acceptance,  registration and  certification, sports, identity cards, late registration, examination, laboratory, transcript and medical centre, registration fees. Bar-Telford , Lynn, Fernando, et al (2003) found that non educational cost (e.g rent, utilities, food, furniture and clothing) exceed direct education costs (tuition, fees, books, and suppliers); non educational cost accounted for  55% of total $9,740 spent in one academic year by full time student.   Thus the cost of education is divided into two broad categories; institutional and private cost (Kumar, 2004). The private cost refers to the part of financial expenditures/ investments which are incurred either by the parents or students or both (including relatives, friends etc) in a year for acquiring education. Campbell and Brown (2002) define personal cost and private cost as cost borne by the beneficiaries. Private cost education may be classified into two categories; academic cost and maintenance cost. Academic cost refers to expenses on items such as fees and funds paid to the institution like tuition fees, examination fee, library fees, laboratory fees etc. Tuition fees are charges levied

upon students and their parents that cover some of the underlying cost of higher education. Maintenance cost includes expenses incur on clothing, transport, boarding and lodging and other sundry expenses. Institutional cost refers to those costs that are borne by the institution or by the government, in order to ensure effective provision of instruction to learners. Higher education programmes when properly planned and executed are cost effective to both the nation and student (Jegede, 2004).

Education possesses  many  characteristics of a  public  good  which  makes  it  to  generate considerable  externalities,  yet  the  potential  of  higher  education  system  in  developing countries to fulfil this responsibility is frequently thwarted by long-standing problems of cost of tertiary education especially in Nigeria.  The tuition fees keep on increasing year by year to meet up with financial needs of the school. The rising cost makes it difficult for parents to plan well for their children’s education. Burns (2014) in a study conducted across Britain found that more than half (52%) of almost 2000 parents had to cut back on clothing and food to pay school cost. Thus, the decision of a household to invest in tertiary education will necessitate him incurring certain costs, which are direct to him, but also have a spill over effect on some of his family members either in form of the money they would spend in terms of what has to be forgone while in school. Some parents make great sacrifices to pay for their children’s education. Mbipon (2010) averred that  it  is the  responsibility of parents and guardians to care for the youths of the community, in the process of undergoing formal education. These consist of expenditure on tuition fees, clothes, books, transportation and accommodation. The cost of higher education is certainly a cause for concern in Anambra state. The need to acquire higher education in Anambra state has increased exponentially since people are finding out that there is a need for a higher education in the labour market. Anambra state is educationally advanced. Literacy rate in the state is comparatively high, and there is abundance of well educated and skill personal of virtually all field of endeavour.

There are also institutions of higher learning. Hundreds of excellent primary and secondary school exist  in the cities and towns of state.  The people  of Anambra are agitating  for scholarship scheme to less privileged students of Anambra state to enable them complete their dreams of higher education. A recent anomaly in the educational system is the drop in male  enrolment,  mainly  in  secondary schools.  This  is  one  of the  educational problems currently being aggressively tackled by the state. Adverse economic social effects on the general development of the country has increased male drop out in the state.  Report found out that in Anambra state, male dropout rates are 51.5% and female 46.2% (Elomba, 2010). However, the study tends to determine the average cost of student’s tertiary education in the state. This is because males and females need to be equally empowered through education. It is the key to economic development of  any nation.

Gender  influences the  cost  of tertiary  education.  Gender  refers  to  society’s division of humanity; base on sex, into distinctive categories, Gender guides how female and male think about themselves, how they interact with others, and what position they occupy in society as whole. Omoregie and Abraham (2009) asserted that gender functions as a dimension of social inequality. Parents historically have always favoured the masculine gender over the famine gender when it comes to making choice of who among the sexes should go to school. Society needs to understand that educating a female is as important and crucial as educating a male. There  is  no  difference  between  male  and  female  when  it  comes  to  education.  In  most countries in Asia and Africa, for example, the education of male children is more important than the education of female children this is because of the belief that  investing in the education of a girl child amounts to investing in another family by virtue of the girl’s marriage. Parents when facing costly school fees, choose to educate male rather than female child. Okuwa (2004) also reports a variation in the private cost of university education with particular reference to gender with parents spending N460.60 more on their male child and N

328.8 on the female child.   In Kenya, Bunyi (2004) study identified a few interventions employed to address gender disparities in higher education. She noted that some of interventions  have  been  implemented  to  specifically  address  gender  issues  in  higher education, while others have focus on improving higher education generally but has no impact on gender disparities. However, the cost of education is the biggest deterrent to families educating their daughters. Educating girls can incur extra direct costs such as special transport or cheap ones for safety. Training a female in tertiary education is more costly than training a male. For example male students can manage two pair of trousers with few shirts. But in the case of a female, it is not. A female student needs many dresses and shoes for modesty. The education of girls is seen as economically and socially costly to parents. Costs come inform of wears, hair- do and make-ups, transportation and opportunity costs (such as lost household help or paid labour). Parents also give their daughters much money than they give their sons, so as not to risking their daughters in the hands of bad boys in town.

Educating males and females produces similar increases in their subsequent earnings and expands future opportunities and choices. Educating girls in particular produce many additional socio-economic gains that benefit entire societies. These benefits include increased economic productivity, higher family incomes, delayed marriages, reduced fertility rates, and improved health and survival rates for infants and children. In fact, educating girls quite possible yields a higher rate of return than any other investment available in the developing country. Most parents educate their daughters because girls have voice in the family and community affairs and also participate indecision making.   In Nigeria, for instance, most parents believe that since daughters do not inherit their father’s properly along with the sons, the best option is to give their daughters quality education up to tertiary level. Mbelle and Kataboaro (2003) had reported that countries that have equalized their educational achievement for men and women have on the average grown faster and that externalities of

women’s schooling are higher than those for men.   Both men and women should receive equal  education  for  great  economy  growth  no  matter  the  cost  of  educating  each  sex. However,  the  cost  of  education  is  also  dependent  to  some  degree  on  type  of  tertiary institutions a student attends.

School type  1,  is  a  factor  affecting  the  cost  of this  study.  It  involves universities and polytechnics.  Three levels of university education exist in Nigeria. First level stage offers a Bachelor’s degree after  a minimum of four  years and a  minimum of six years (e.g. in medicine). The university second level stage offers Master’s degree following one year of post-Bachelor’s study. The university third level offers a Doctorate degree two to three years after the Master’s. To gain admission into the first level of university education, one has to pass the competitive University Matriculation Examination (UME) (IAU, 2000). The non- university  sector  is  composed  of  Polytechnics,  institutions  of  technology,  colleges  of education and professional institutions operating under parent ministries (Akintoye, 2008). The universities, polytechnics and colleges have a governing board or council appointed by the government and have some internal representatives of the institution as elected member or members. These councils generally govern the affairs of the institution on behalf of the government. The management of each institution is headed by a chief executive officer, that is, the vice-chancellor in the case of universities, the rector in the case of the polytechnics and the provost in the case of college of education.     University is a high level educational institution in which students study for degrees and academic research is done. Traditionally, polytechnics focus on practical vocational and high level technical training. Polytechnics offer a unique, dynamic learning environment which helps students to discover their strengths and potentials.   Tuition fees are different for various institutions.  Previous studies confirmed that the unit costs of education vary from one sub-sector to the other. For instance, the unit costs for universities were found to be much higher when compared to the other levels of

education. Mardiana (2009) reported that in Singapore students attending polytechnic incur less cost on tuition and other expenses compared to those attending university. The unit cost of education also varied from one discipline to another in the universities as confirmed by Okebukola (2002). According to Okebukola (2002) the total average unit cost per student per discipline in science-based disciplines (with a mean of N239, 408) was higher than those of Art-based disciplines (with a mean of N186,525). He further explained that the average unit cost per student discipline ranged from a minimum of N141,532 for business Administration/Management Science to maximum of N 302, 096 in Human Medicine. The exact tuition rate a student pays depends on the type of institution in which the student enrols. However, this study anchors on student’s cost in universities and polytechnics both private and public.

School type 11 influences the cost of student’s tertiary education. School type 11 is grouped into Private and public tertiary education. Higher education in Nigeria is divided into the public and private tertiary institutions. Private schools typically charge more than government schools, but there may be cost variation across private schools and across government schools as well. And as such average school price elasticity tends to vary across different types of schools. The magnitude of price elasticity is larger for private institution than for government institutions. Poor households are more responsive to price than richer households (Alderman, Orazem, Paterno, 2001). In Anambra state, private institutions charge higher fees than public tertiary  institutions.  The  tuition  fees  ranges  from  N300  000  to  500  000  while  public institutions tuition fees ranges from N28 000 to 42 000. Studies in America revealed that fees at public and private institutions are rising by an average of 14.1 percent from 2002-2003 to

2003 to 2004. The charge is $5000-$15000 per year depending on location, type and length of course (Oluremi 2013). The rising cost of education, particularly at private institutions, has received  a great  deal of attention recently on our campuses,  in the  literature of higher

education research, and in media. Rising cost of private higher education has a far-reaching impact on the financial conditions of an institution, on the family budgets of its students, and on the size  and composition of its  student  body.  As  a result,  many private  institutions currently service students from families with a relatively high income. According to Obasi (2006) annual tuition at private institutions in Nigeria ranges from $769 to $3285 per student while the country’s GDP is only $1400.  In Argentina no tuition fees are charged in public universities though the universities have the authority to do so if they choose. However, private universities charge from US$5000 to 15000/year (Marcucci & Usher, 2011). The high cost of private institution, therefore, limits equitable access to students who might have the necessary skills, to undertake tertiary education, but lack the financial resources to attend (Banya,2001). Public tertiary education rely heavily on government subsidies and able to operate with minimal tuition and other fees. As a result, the government can control and impose policies as it wishes and make tertiary education available at affordable cost to the citizenry. However, the tuition fees are different for various tertiary institutions and vary with courses. Nwangwu (2001) stated that when parents and their children exercise their right to choose the types of higher institution to pursue, it should be understood that higher education is  not  free or universal or compulsory they have  to  provide financial support for such students.

Student’s year of study influences this study. It involves student’s various levels in school. In most schools cost incurred by students varied according to student’s level, course, and the area of studies.  Fresh and the returning students vary in their payment. Fresh students pay higher tuition fees than the returning students. In most countries, one of factors affecting enrolment of students in tertiary institution is the increasing amount of first and final level of education. Agboola (2010) in his study found out that the private cost of students vary according to student’s field and level of study. The unit cost increases according to level, unit

cost is higher at the first year; followed by the final year. This could be because of other fees charged the new in-takes which are different from tuition fees. The final year students also undertake project work at the end of their programme which demands extra cost. Also the private cost of education has crucial role in determining the access to education and various courses. Hence the researcher intends to find or determine the cost of student’s tertiary education in Anambra state.

Statement of the Problem

In an ideal world, tertiary education should be affordable by every citizen regardless of the financial stators of the students/parents. The goals of tertiary education include acquiring both physical and intellectual skill which will enable individuals to be self-reliant and useful members of society. But this goal has not been achieved in Anambra state as a result of lack of finance to meet up the cost of tertiary education. Students of tertiary institutions and of Anambra origin have called on the state to look into their plights and pay them bursary as a way of ameliorating the suffering of parents and guardians as being done in other states and also encourage younger ones who yarn to grab higher institution’s certificate. The people of Anambra are agitating for scholarship scheme and bursary awards to enable them fulfil their dreams of higher education in Anambra state which has not been granted to them. The major problem of the study is the determination of cost in Anambra state. Therefore this study anchors on what it costs an average Nigerian student (monetary terms) to acquire tertiary education in Anambra state.

Purpose of study

The main purpose of this study is to determine the cost of students’ tertiary education in

Anambra state. Specifically, the study seeks to determine:

1.  The average cost of students’ tertiary education in Anambra state.

2.  The average cost of students’ tertiary education according to gender

3.  The  average  cost  of  students’  tertiary  education  according  to  school  type  I (universities and polytechnics)

4.  The average cost of students’ tertiary education according to school type II (public and private

5.  The average cost of students’ tertiary education according to year of study.

Significance of the study

The findings of this study will of practical benefits to the students/guardians, government, school administers and owners

The students in Anambra state will benefit from this study in such a way that gender disparity will be eliminated. Males will be eager to acquire tertiary education in Anambra state.

Parents/guardians of students in Anambra state will benefit from the study by knowing the unit cost of educating their children in both private and public tertiary intuitions in Anambra state. It will also make the parents/guardians to decide which type of tertiary education to send their children. The findings will constitute a bench mark for casting their sources of income before a decision to enrol in tertiary education.

Government will benefit from this study by becoming aware that tertiary education needs more funds to meet up their challenges.   Government, stakeholders and tertiary education administers will use the information from this as a guide in the determination of the rate of fees to be charged.

Theoretically, the  significance of this  study anchors on cost  disease theory. The theory provides a framework for explaining why the cost of tertiary education has risen so rapidly.

Cost disease affecting tertiary institution implies that state and federal support for higher education should be increased so that young people can acquire tertiary education.

Scope of the study

The geographical scope of this study covers four (4) tertiary institutions in Anambra state. That is, two universities and two polytechnics. The two types of higher institutions selected constitute one private and one public respectively. The content scope of this study centres on cost  of  tertiary  education  borne  by  students,  parents/guardians  and  the  government  in Anambra state public and private universities and polytechnics with respect to all undergraduate levels and both gender.

Research questions

The following research questions guided the study:

1.  What is the average cost of students’ tertiary education in Anambra state?

2.  What is the average cost of students’ tertiary education according to gender?

3.  What is the average cost of students’ tertiary education according to school type I (universities and polytechnics)?

4.  What is the average cost of students’ tertiary education according to school type II (public and private)?

5.  What is the average cost of students’ tertiary education according to year of study?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses guided the study and were tested at 0.05 level of Significance: Ho1:    The  mean  cost  of  students’  tertiary  education  in  Anambra  state  is  significantly

indifference to gender.

Ho2:    The  mean  cost  of  students’  tertiary  education  in  Anambra  state  is  significantly indifference to school type I (universities and polytechnics)

Ho3:    The  mean  cost  of  students’  tertiary  education  in  Anambra  state  is  significantly indifference to school type II (public and private) Ho4:    The  mean  cost  of  students’  tertiary  education  in  Anambra  state  is  significantly indifference to students’ year of study.

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