ASUU- Beneficiaries of Students loan scheme will be in permanent debt

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has voiced its strong opposition to the proposed education loan scheme, labeling it as a mechanism that could potentially trap students in a cycle of enduring debt. This sentiment was expressed in a statement released following the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, which took place at Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State. The union expressed its astonishment over the unfulfilled commitments by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, particularly concerning the resolutions aimed at addressing the prolonged disputes that led ASUU to initiate a nationwide strike from February to October 2022.

Over the years, Nigerian governments have consistently failed to honor their agreements with ASUU, prompting the union to resort to strikes as a means of advocating for their rights. Critical issues, such as the payment of Earned Academic Allowances, the stagnant renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, exclusion from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, provision of revitalization funds, and settlement of withheld salaries, remain unresolved.

ASUU has specifically criticized the Students Loan Scheme, promoted by global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, arguing that it threatens to deprive public universities of essential funding. The union warns that this scheme not only risks diverting public resources to private universities owned by influential figures but also endangers the entire university system by burdening students with perpetual debt. Given the scheme’s failure in more efficiently managed economies, ASUU questions its viability in Nigeria, a nation plagued by corruption, nepotism, and other detrimental practices.

To genuinely support Nigerian students, ASUU suggests that the government should instead provide grants and scholarships, and restore the Needs-Based Budgeting System to enhance the university system’s efficiency. Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU’s National President, condemned the significant increases in school fees and argued that the substantial funds misappropriated from government coffers should be redirected towards university funding.

The union contends that if the Federal Government had adhered to the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding, which proposed an allocation of N1.3 trillion over six years, the universities could have achieved standards capable of attracting international students and fostering groundbreaking research. ASUU urges the Tinubu administration to undertake a new needs assessment for public universities to substantiate the union’s demand for substantial intervention, drawing on the government’s response to a similar call in 2012 that resulted in the promised N1.3 trillion, a commitment that has since been disregarded.

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