The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has once again expressed its opposition to the student loan programme of the Federal Government, claiming that it is a scheme to enrich private university owners in the country.
ASUU’s deputy president, Christopher Piwuna, pointed out on Saturday that the federal government can fund education in the country, and that the introduction of the loan scheme was an indication of insufficient funding.
Piwuna explained that it was difficult to comprehend why the government is unwilling to invest in education when members of the National Assembly could receive allowances to the tune of N160 million. Pinuwa said that the government could adequately fund education if it was genuinely serious about doing so.
“The leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan, I think, tried to demonstrate that, when his administration agreed to release N200 billion in 2013 as part of the NEEDS Assessment and till this day, 10 years after the release of that money, we still see what that money is doing in this system,” Piwuna said at a scholarship event at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi.
Read Also:
“So, we are against the student loan as a form of funding education, we think the loan will go back into the coffers of private individuals who are in government today who own private universities. If the government is serious, they should make grants to institutions and students.”
ASUU’s zonal coordinator, Lazarus Maigoro, explained that the union’s scholarship initiative arose from the union’s concern for students who were sometimes barred from taking examinations due to their inability to pay school fees.
“I can authoritatively say without mincing words that as we teach these students in the classroom, we notice quite a number who are distressed due to the very harsh economic realities of our country,” he said at the event which awarded scholarships to 19 indigent students of the state.
He additionally said that these challenges have led ASUU to reject the concept of student loans, urging the government to convert the initiatives into grants that do not require repayment.
“The question is, who will pay the loan? What is the fate of those who cannot access it? The psychological trauma the students will be subjected to due to the loan while still on studies will affect their performance negatively,” he added.
