ASUU Kicks Against Tinubu’s Student Loan Bill, Says It Will Force Many Students Out of School

Patrick OdeyJune 15, 2023

2 minutes read

President Bola Tinubu has signed the Student Loan Bill into law, fulfilling one of his campaign promises and earning praises from many Nigerians. However, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed concern that the law could lead to many students dropping out of school due to the introduction of tuition fees.

The ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, told Daily Trust that the law was not in the best interest of millions of prospective students who depend on free education in public universities. He said the country’s poverty level was too high to impose tuition fees on students who are already struggling to pay other charges and levies.

He said: “We are not against the idea of student loans, but we are against the idea of using it to pay tuition fees. There are no tuition fees in Nigerian public universities, according to the Constitution. So why introduce a loan for something that does not exist?”

Osodeke said the law was not new, as it was rejected by the union during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. He said the union suspected that there might be another bill waiting for signature that would legalize tuition fees in public universities.

He said: “We warned President Buhari in 2017 when they proposed that every student should pay N1 million as tuition fees. We told them that it was unacceptable and unworkable. If they do that, many students will drop out of school and become a menace to the society. We don’t want that to happen.”

He said the union had not seen the exact copy of the law signed by Tinubu, and would study it before taking any action.

A professor at the University of Abuja, Ben Ugwoke, said the law did not abolish the existing charges and levies that students pay in public institutions. He said the law might pave the way for higher charges in the future.

He said: “The law does not affect the acts of the National Assembly that established the public institutions and gave them powers to determine appropriate charges and levies for students. The new student loan act did not cancel or reduce these charges and levies. Rather, it might create a basis for them to increase them.”

He said the law might seem like a relief to some parents and students, but it might actually mean more financial burden.

Another professor at Nasarawa State University Keffi, Nasiru Medugu Idris, said the student loan would only cover tuition fees, which are a small fraction of students’ expenses per semester. He said parents and students should not celebrate yet until they see how the loan works.

He said: “Tuition fees may be 10 to 20 per cent of students’ expenditure per semester. The loan will not cover other costs like accommodation, feeding, transportation, books and so on. Parents and students should not be deceived by this law until they access the loan first.”

When Daily Trust contacted the Federal Ministry of Education to clarify clause 3 of the act, which states that “the loan shall be used solely for payment of tuition fees”, via a text message to the Permanent Secretary, David Adejo, through the Director of Press, Bem Ben Goong, he said the ministry would issue a statement on it soon.