Students’ Loan: ASUU Makes Case For Poor, Indigent Students

According to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the terms of the latest Federal Government student loan mean that low-income and destitute students will not be eligible for it.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Jos, Dr. Mwolwus Jurbe, the Chairman of the University of Jos Chapter of ASUU, said that the loan’s terms were not intended for the intended beneficiaries—the impoverished children.

According to NAN, President Bola Tinubu signed the Students Loan Act, also known as the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023, in June.

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For Nigerians pursuing postsecondary education, the bill would provide interest-free school loans.

A few requirements include that applicants for the interest-free loan must be accepted into a public university, polytechnic, College of Education (COE), or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) school in Nigeria before they can submit an application.

The applicant or family’s annual income cannot be more than N500,000, and they must appoint a minimum of two civil servants as guarantors.

These guarantors ought to be judges, justices of the peace, government servants at least at Level 12, or solicitors with ten years or more of post-call experience.

Any student or parent who has a history of loan default, or who has been convicted of a crime, drug offence, or exam malpractice will not be eligible for the loan.

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It further said that the loan repayment would start two years after the graduate’s National Youth Service Corps programme ended and that the employer would withdraw 10% of the loan amount immediately from the beneficiary’s wages.

Beneficiaries who work for themselves would send 10% of their monthly earnings to the specific Students Loan account that the bank will specify.

Jurbe asserts that ASUU, a union that advocates for justice and equity for everyone, wants Nigerians to have equal access to education regardless of their social standing.

“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.

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“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.

Any nation that wishes to advance significantly, in Jurbe’s opinion, has to finance its educational system.

The chairman stated that the majority of students who would apply for the loan might not be able to repay it within the allotted period, while also bemoaning the nation’s high rate of unemployment.

“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.

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“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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