Varsity, poly teachers dismiss FG’s student loans scheme
…Call it ‘recipe for disaster’, poor can’t pay inherent high interest rates
By Doosuur Iwambe
Barely days after President Bola Tinubu signed the student loans bill into law, teachers in the nation’s universities and polytechnics have voiced their reaction.
With one voice, they expressed doubt over the sustainability of the scheme, dismissing it as a ploy to further commercialize education and overburden already financially stressed-out parents and students.
President Tinubu signed the bill into law last week with his Chief of Staff-designate, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila,on Monday singing praises of the benefits of the scheme.
The scheme is expected to provide loans to students to enable them finance their education. The government said the scheme will be interest-free and will be repaid after the students graduate and get a job.
Painting the scheme in glowing colours, Gbajabiamila had said, among other things, that it would lessen the burden on parents and breed quality education as well as make students happy and focused on their academics.
But, apparently picking holes in these assertions, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Association of Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) waved off the scheme as not being as glittering as presented to Nigerians.
ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, while reacting to the development, in a statement yesterday, noted that the scheme is not sustainable and will not address the challenges facing the education sector.
According to both unions, the scheme is a means to further commercialise education and put the burden of funding education on the shoulders of poor parents and students.
He said: “The student loan scheme is not sustainable, as the government has not shown any commitment to providing adequate funding for education.
“The government has also not shown any commitment to addressing the challenges facing the education sector, such as dilapidated infrastructure, poor funding, and inadequate staff.”
ASUP President, Mr Anderson Ezeibe, also expressed doubts over the scheme.
He said the scheme is “a recipe for disaster.”
According to him, it will “further widen the gap between the rich and the poor. The scheme will only benefit the rich, who can afford to pay the high interest rates.
“The poor will be further disadvantaged, as they will not be able to afford the high interest rates.”
Furthermore, the unions called on the government to focus on providing adequate funding for education and addressing the challenges facing the education sector.
They also demanded that government scraps the proposed student loan scheme.
READ ALSO: Akpabio elected President of 10th Nigerian Senate
The Tinubu government’s decision to introduce the student loan scheme has been welcomed by some stakeholders, who say it will help reduce the financial burden on parents and students.
However, others have expressed concerns about the sustainability of the scheme and the risk of it increasing the level of indebtedness among students.
