The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticised the signing into law of the Student Loan Bill by President Bola Tinubu.
Development Diaries reports that Tinubu accented to the bill on 12 June, 2023.
Presidential aide, Dele Alake, who disclosed this, said the bill would boost the educational pursuit of youths across the country, adding that to enjoy the facility, students must show evidence of being indigent.
Meanwhile, ASUU has said that the loan Act is discriminatory between the children of the rich and the poor.
‘This is discriminatory. If what I read online is correct, it said it is only for children whose parents earn at least N500,000 per annum. That means if your father earns more, you won’t benefit’, the Punch quoted ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, as saying.
The Act enables Nigerian students of tertiary institutions to access loans at interest-free rates.
However, Development Diaries believes that the Act is counterproductive because Nigeria’s education sector is grossly underfunded.
Nigeria, in 2015, signed a commitment to achieve Goal-4, Target-1, of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ by 2030.
However, current realities, as they relate to low funding for basic education in the country, suggest that the country is unlikely to achieve that goal.
The government should be more concerned about investing in quality education for students in the country because it may prove counterproductive for students to acquire a loan to get low-quality education.
Development Diaries calls on the Tunubu-led federal government to instead increase Nigeria’s annual budget for education to over ten percent of its total yearly budget.
The government also needs to convince Nigerian students that it is committed to their welfare by finally putting to rest the demands of ASUU because students cannot take loans for education only to be sent home due to incessant strikes.
Photo source: Bola Ahmed Tinubu
