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Nigerian Students Need Grant Not Loan – ASUU

Published

1 month ago

Dec 5, 2024.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized the federal government’s student loan program, disbursed through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), arguing that it should be replaced with grants for the children of the poor rather than loans.

ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, expressed his concerns on Thursday during an appearance on Channels TV.

He emphasized that the government’s approach, which involves increasing school fees to encourage borrowing, is detrimental to the poor, as it burdens students with debt.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Osodeke explained that universities have been raising their fees to ensure that students borrow more money from NELFUND, thereby worsening the financial strain on students from lower-income families.

He shared his own experience, revealing that the number of students in his department had drastically decreased, with many dropping out due to the financial burden. “In my university, in my department, I now have less than 10 students in the department, many have dropped out,” he said. He pointed out that the children of the poor are particularly affected.

The ASUU president also criticized the student loan scheme, citing its past failures.

He noted that previous attempts had collapsed because graduates were unable to repay the loans due to the country’s economic challenges. He questioned the viability of the current loan program, highlighting the difficulty graduates face in securing jobs that would allow them to repay large loans, such as a hypothetical loan of five million naira.

He pointed out that even academics like himself would struggle to repay such an amount within 20 years.

Osodeke urged the government to prioritize increasing the budgetary allocation to the education sector to provide real support for students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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He also questioned the sustainability of the loan scheme, noting that previous attempts had failed, with no beneficiaries able to repay the loans.

“We are the academia, we do our research, and we have searched all over the world. In most countries where student loans exist, graduates often become societal burdens because they are unable to pay back,” Osodeke concluded.