Mixed reactions, uncertainty as Tinubu unveils student loan

Stakeholders who share their views with GRACE EDEMA differ on the student loan bill recently signed by President Bola Tinubu, with some expressing doubts about its benefits, while others describe it as a solution to tertiary institution funding

June 12, 2023 signing of the student loan bill by President Bola Tinubu was not the first time the loan scheme was proposed and operated in Nigeria.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the loan scheme was operated in Nigeria by the Student Loan Board and the Education Bank initiative. Unfortunately, a mess was made of both.

As such, the news of the signing of the bill, which will give tertiary institutions’ students interest-free loans went viral and caught the attention of Nigerians.

The bill was received with mixed reactions as the major unions of tertiary institutions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics did not hesitate to remind Nigerians that they had never been in support of the loan.

The Student Loan Bill was proposed by the former Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and it was passed by the lawmakers in late May 2023 and assented to by President Tinubu.

While delivering the 52nd convocation address at the University of Lagos in November 2022, he stated that he proposed a bill in the National Assembly named Student Loans (Access to Higher Education Bill), saying, the Education Bank would provide interest-free loans to students in tertiary institutions in order to make funding education at that level more accessible to all.

However, there has been criticism of the bill. Some critics have said it would lead to a hike in fees in nstitutions, which all lack infrastructure and educational resources. Another challenge is burdening students with debts after graduation in a nation ridden with a high unemployment rate and poor economic policies.

ASUU kicks

The National President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, in an interview with The PUNCH, described the loan as discriminatory.

Osodeke said, “Everyone knows our position on the student loan because it will end up encumbering the children of the poor with loans and debt after graduating. This is discriminatory. If what I read online is correct, it said it is only for children whose parents earn at most N500,000 per annum. That means if your father earns more, you won’t benefit.”

Similarly, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Mr Anderson Ezeibe, said that the intentions of the bill might be noble, but it was going to be very difficult to sustain it.

Ezeibe said it obviously downplayed the unemployment crisis in the nation, as well as the southern trends in other economic indices expected to support the loan scheme.

He said, “We see a big bobby trap in expecting graduates to commence repayment of the loans after two years of graduation when the evidence before us shows that a large majority of graduates are not guaranteed any form of employment within two years of graduation. This alone endangers the sustainability of the loan scheme.”

On his part, the Director/Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, insisted that there were more important issues in the education sector than the loan.

“The student loan can have an impact abroad, but here where it is not guaranteed you get a job, and when you get a job, can you say it is a good job?”

He complained that “It is unnecessary. If there is a plan to create education banks, it is another heavy institutional investment, having buildings here and there.’’

Assistant Professor, Department of English, Languages, and Cultures, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada, Ademola Adesola, who said he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Manitoba without any student loan, also emphasised that the student loan was not the solution to Nigeria’s education problem, saying students had always found their way through school without loans.

Senior Lecturer, Department of Computing and Informatics, Bournemouth University, United Kingdom, Dr Festus Adedoyin, explained that, in the UK, there were tuition fee loans that covered the cost of tuition fees charged by universities or colleges, and maintenance loans, which provide financial support for living expenses such as accommodation, food, and study materials.

He, however, revealed that repayment of student loans could sometimes be challenging as the repayment period for student loans was 30 years in the U.K.

“Whilst the loan has several benefits as it provides access to higher education for many individuals who would otherwise be unable to afford it, the burden of debt can sometimes cause financial stress and influence life decisions, such as career choices or delaying other major financial commitments.”

In addition, the National President of the Association of Tutorial Owners, Mr. Oladotun Sodunke, said, “The newly-introduced student loan would not bring any progress to students and the education sector.