The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says poor
and indigent students will not benefit from the students’ loan recently
introduced by the Federal Government because of the conditions attached.
Dr Mwolwus Jurbe, Chairman of the University of Jos Chapter
of ASUU, who said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),
on Saturday in Jos, maintained that the conditions attached to the loan were
not for the children of the poor, who were supposed to be the target
beneficiaries.
NAN reports that President Bola Tinubu had in June signed
the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023, also known as the Students Loan Act.
The law would ensure the provision of interest-free
education loans for Nigerians seeking tertiary education.
Some of the conditions are that; students who wished to
apply for the interest-free loan must first obtain admission into a public
Nigerian university, polytechnic, College of Education (COE), or Technical and
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) School.
The applicant’s income or family income should not exceed
N500,000 per annum, and he/she must provide a minimum of two civil servants as
guarantors.
These guarantors should either be at least on Level 12 in
the civil service or a lawyer with at least 10 years of post-call experience, a
judicial officer, or a Justice of Peace.
Students, or their parents, who have previously defaulted on
loans, or have been found guilty of exam malpractices, felony, or drug offences
would not be considered eligible for the loan.
It further added that repayment of the loan would commence
two years after the completion of the graduate’s National Youth Service Corps
programme, and the money would be deducted directly from the beneficiary’s
salary at a rate of 10 per cent by the employer.
Self-employed beneficiaries would remit 10 per cent of their
total monthly profit to the designated Students Loan account to be prescribed
by the bank.
According to Jurbe, however, ASUU, a union that promotes
equity and justice for all, wants Nigerians to have equal opportunities at
acquiring education, irrespective of social status.
“Part of the reasons for our last strike is the
revitalisation of the university system, but we received backlash from
Nigerians.
“We believe that government can fund education; because
federal and state governments spend huge amounts to send students abroad for
studies.
“If this huge sum is harnessed into our education system, it
will be the envy of many countries and foreign students will come here to study
too.
“So, this loan will force parents to fund education, and it
simply means that children of poor Nigerians can’t go to school,’’ he said.
According to Jurbe, any country that wants to make
meaningful progress must fund its education sector.
The chairman, who also decried the spate of unemployment in
the country, said that most students who would access the loan might not be
able to pay back within the stipulated time.
“Giving bursary awards to Nigerian students is better than
the provision of loans. This is because students may not be able to pay back
the loan due to inadequate employment opportunities in the country.
“The fact remains that many jobless graduates that obtain
such loans while in the higher institution would definitely become indebted to
the government and unable to repay in time.
“Such policies thrive in the western countries like the
United States of America, simply because there are job opportunities awaiting
students even before they graduate from their various schools.
“But that is not the case in Nigeria, and we will not support the commercialisation of education because it it is a social good, and no one should be denied that on the basis of status,’’ he said.
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