Student Loan Act Will Send Many Students Out Of School – ASUU | See Details

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU has stated that the Student Loan Bill, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu could send many students out of school.

ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke stated this while speaking with newsmen on Wednesday, June 14.

On Monday, Tinubu signed the bill, describing the law as a fulfillment of one of his campaign promises. The bill aims to give poor students tuition free education, which will be paid back when the students graduate and start working.

But, the president of ASUU said the law would affect millions of prospective students who rely on tuition-free higher institutions of learning to acquire knowledge.

In his word:

“A country where more than 133 million are living below the poverty line and you want to introduce tuition fees? It will be counterproductive.

“Every Nigerian should know what is going to happen next and there may likely be another bill waiting for signature that will introduce tuition fees.

“If the bill indicated that the loan is to pay tuition fees and there are no tuition fees in Nigerian universities, then what is your next approach?”

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Osodeke added that the bill is not new, revealing how the union rejected it when former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration brought it up.

He further stated that the union is yet to have access to the accurate copy of the law signed by the new president.

“We have said long ago, in 2017, to President Buhari when they came up with the issue of tuition fees, that every student will pay N1 million and we said you cannot put that in our agreement and you cannot use that to negotiate with us and with the nature of the country we have today, there is no way that will work.”

“What will happen is that the majority of students whose parents cannot afford it will pull out of school in anger and you know what that means, they will fight the society back. But let us get the correct information first before knowing the next steps,”

he added.

Earlier, the federal ministry of education disclosed that President Tinubu has said he wants to see recipients of students’ loan by September/October 2023/2024 Academic Session.

The Education Ministry disclosed this at a press conference on Wednesday, June 14. Andrew David Adejo, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, noted that government can no longer foot the bill of universities.

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He said;

“Whether we like it or not, the government can no longer foot the bill for universities. That is why we are doing private public partnership. The universities already have autonomy, they autonomy they are yet to have is financial autonomy, it is when the get it that they can answer that question and the government is working towards that.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed that he wants to see recipients of the loans by September/ October of 2023/2024 academic session and that as such, an inter-ministerial committee will be inaugurated on Tuesday to fine tune the process for students to get the loan within six weeks.

“Without meaning to say what the committee set up would do, we don’t want to make something that only public school students would benefit from, for now private schools are paying tuition so you have to give somebody who is going to private school an opportunity for get and pay tuition.

“What you have been seeing is the bill that was presented and went through final reading at the House of Representatives and before Mr. President signs a bill, he looks at it and sends it to relevant ministries and then decides if it is okay and if there are modifications that are necessary.

Let us wait to see the Act and you will get the Act when it is transmitted to the ministry of justice to produce into a gazette.”

Adejo further revealed that asides from tuition, there are other fees the loan could cover. He said;

“You can’t give someone loan and say pay tuition without sustaining his school, No, you have to get accommodation, even if tuition fee in public universities are free you still pay for your accommodation and federal government would not give you loan that will not make sure you get in school, stay in school and graduate.”

On why same loan failed in the past, the permanent secretary said;

“We want the current act to learn from the mistake of the past where there are more defaulters than people that paid the bill, the past is like it is a government money come and take and go, free money but that is not going to be the case with this.”