Once again, lecturers affiliated with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the Federal University of Technology, Akure chapter, have turned down President Bola Tinubu’s proposed student loan scheme.
They characterized the scheme as a means to drain resources from public universities, asserting that its enforcement would deepen the financial hardship experienced by needy students.
The Chairman of ASUU, FUTA, Prof Pius Mogaji, made these remarks during a scholarship award ceremony for outstanding but financially disadvantaged students of the institution held on Friday.
Mogaji elaborated that the proposed scheme would ensnare students in perpetual debt, further asserting that it would deplete the government funding allocated to public universities.
He said, “For the avoidance of doubt the NEC (National Executive Council) of ASUU reiterated its rejection of the student loan scheme which is being promoted by international money lending agencies such as IMF and World Bank.
“Nigerians should be aware that the scheme is a way of starving public universities of funding and a ploy to divert public funds into private universities owned by politically exposed individuals and their friends.
“The NEC further observed that the scheme will mortgage the entire university system and keep our promising students in perpetual indebtedness.”
He suggests that even in more efficiently run economies, the success of the scheme is not assured, given Nigeria’s entrenched issues of corruption, nepotism, and other detrimental factors that thwarted the education bank project’s progress over its years in existence.
Mogaji relayed ASUU’s stance that to truly prioritize Nigerian students’ welfare, both state and federal governments must allocate resources towards grants and scholarships, alongside reintroducing the needs-based budgeting system for optimal efficiency.
According to the ASUU Chairman, the union’s national leadership vehemently criticized the significant rise in school fees, asserting that resources diverted from government coffers ought to be channeled towards funding universities.
Read also: Tinubu Issues Fresh Directive On Student Loan Implementation
Explaining the scholarship award, the ASUU Chairman detailed its inclusion as part of the ASUU Heroes’ Day observance, which took place on November 12, 2023, in Kaduna State.
He noted that two students of FUTA were picked as beneficiaries for the national scholarship award during the celebration while the FUTA Chapter of ASUU extended the gesture to the addition of six students as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.
“Hence, as part of our community development service, giving out scholarships to indigent but brilliant is seen by ASUU as our corporate social responsibility towards making education accessible to all.
“Consequently, the Congress of ASUU FUTA at its meeting in November extended these good wills to other six students, N50,000 each, to assist them in completing their education.
“The duo, Ibikunle Stephen Oluwaseun and Gbenga Dauda Otaomokunola will be given N200,000 each while the other six students will be given N50,000 each.
The six students are Ajuola Ebenezer Timilehin, Bamigboye Moronfolu Ayobami, Adetunji Timilehin Emmanuel, Ayoola Taiwo; Akinpelu Victoria and Ajakaye Oluwafunmilayo Rita”, he stated.
Speaking on behalf of fellow beneficiaries, Otaomokunola expressed gratitude for the gesture, highlighting its potential to motivate recipients to excel academically, while also urging affluent individuals and organizations to extend support to underprivileged students.
Moreover, the National leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities cautioned on Thursday that the planned education loan scheme would result in students facing continuous.
After its National Executive Council meeting at the Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, ASUU conveyed surprise in a statement issued on Thursday, regarding the revelations of unmet assurances from the Bola Tinubu-led administration in addressing the persistent issues that precipitated the union’s nationwide strike spanning from February to October 2022.