The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has strongly condemned the federal government’s student loan program, which is disbursed through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND.
According to ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, the government should instead focus on increasing budgetary provisions to the education sector or provide grants for underprivileged students.
Professor Osodeke expressed his concerns in an interview, stating that the student loan program has led to a surge in school fees, making it difficult for students from low-income backgrounds to afford education.
He emphasized that this approach has been tried twice before and has failed, leaving students with significant debt and little hope of repayment.
Osodeke also highlighted the challenges faced by graduates in securing employment, which makes it even more difficult for them to repay their loans.
He stressed that providing grants or increasing funding to education would be a more effective way to support students, rather than burdening them with debt.
ASUU’s stance on this issue is not surprising, given their long-standing advocacy for improved funding and support for the education sector.
“Our issue with NELFUND is that in a country like Nigeria, it should be grants; and not a loan.
“All the universities are increasing their fees now; jerking up their fees so that the students will borrow more loans from this NELFUND, encumbering the children of the poor.
“In my university, in my department, I now have less than 10 students in the department, many have dropped out. Apart from some of these big courses like Medicine, Law and what have you, students are dropping out. The children of the poor are dropping out.
“We are the academia, we do our research, we have searched all over the world, we have not seen. In most countries where you are having student loans when they graduate, they become problems in society. Some of them are demoralized.
“Imagine a student graduating from the university with a loan of five million naira. Even me as a professor, I can not pay back such a loan in 20 years’ time. Then student who graduates you have a loan of 5 million and you are getting a job in next 20 years.
“And we are saying if you loot at what happened in the 60s and 70s you can go to that level. The children of the poor assist them, increase budgetary allocation to education and this issue of loan will not come out.
“This is the third time they are introducing it, the last two times it collapsed, nobody benefitted. Those that benefitted didn’t pay back because it collapsed. So how are we sure this one will survive?” Osodeke stated.
