The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the federal government to convert the allocated N50 billion for the student loan scheme into grants for students. Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the President of ASUU, made this plea during a recent television interview, expressing concerns about the challenges of repaying loans in a country where post-graduation employment is uncertain.
President Bola Tinubu signed the student loan bill into law on June 12, with the aim of providing accessible higher education for indigent Nigerians through interest-free loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. The scheme, slated to begin in January 2024, received a budgetary allocation of N50 billion for the program in the 2024 budget.
Osodeke emphasized that allocating the N50 billion as grants would have a more substantial impact and serve as a compassionate investment in the education of Nigerian students. He urged the government to consider the plight of those who cannot afford education, particularly children in villages with parents earning less than N30,000 a month.
“If the issue is just N50 billion, why can’t we convert that N50 billion as a country like Nigeria to grants for the children of the very poor? Let’s give to those who cannot afford it, not give them a loan that becomes a liability for them before they even graduate and are not sure of getting a job. We are thinking of the Nigerian people, those who cannot afford it, those children who are in the villages whose parents earn less than N30,000 a month,” he stated.
Osodeke expressed doubts about the impact of a N50 billion loan, pointing out that similar initiatives had failed twice before. He criticized the conditions attached to the loan, particularly their economic disadvantage for students in rural areas.
“In such a country where you easily have access to jobs after graduation, you cannot pay it back and they are suffering, or people committing suicide. Is it in Nigeria where the children are sure that even in 10 years, you might not get employment that they can pay back the loan?” he questioned.
The ASUU president highlighted the challenges associated with the loan, questioning how many individuals would benefit from a N50 billion loan and expressing concerns about the conditions that may disadvantage children of the poor in villages.