ASUU Faults FG Student Loan Scheme - Politics — Nigeria

ASUU condemns FG's student loan plan due to the potential psychological harm to students

The federal government's student loan program has been rejected by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Bauchi Zone, which argues that non-refundable grants ought to be awarded to Nigerian students in lieu of loans.

Lazarus Maig-oro, the ASUU Bauchi Zonal Coordinator, revealed this during a speech on Saturday at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, at a ceremony for scholarships for underprivileged students.

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He said, “The question is: who will pay the loan?

“What is the fate of those who cannot access it? The psychological trauma the students will be subjected to due to the loan while still in studies will affect their performance negatively.

“The fact that they will graduate with a loan of N4 million and above without the capacity to pay back will be another psychological torture for students.”

Moreover, failing to meet the strict requirements tied to the loan effectively means quitting school for those who are unable to get it. Currently, many students are unable to continue their education due to the increase in tuition fees or levies at public universities across the nation.

ASUU Bauchi Zone is collecting data on students who are most likely to leave school at the end of the current term in an effort to persuade the government to reconsider its decision to replace loans with grants.

The ASUU Zonal coordinator stressed that: “I can authoritatively say without mincing words, that as we teach these students in the classrooms, we notice quite a number who are distressed due to the very harsh economic realities of our country.”

Regarding Federal Universities, it appears that the government has given up on its constitutional duty to provide money and has instead given the various governing councils of the universities the authority to evaluate the funding at any time, which has caused some students to drop out of school. 

ASUU's eight-month strike in 2022 was partly motivated by its desire to hold the government accountable for paying for university education. Regrettably, parents and students turned against the union's efforts to combat this threat jointly, and as a result, they are now victims of the very things that ASUU sought to stop.

In addition to the 12 scholarships that ASUU National has already given out at the six universities that make up the Bauchi zone, the ASUU Bauchi Zone is providing 19 scholarships to deserving students for the year 2023.