The Academic Staff Union Universities (ASUU) says the
student loan act is designed to enrich owners of private universities in the
country.
President Bola Tinubu assented to the student loan
legislation on June 12.
The initiative is aimed at helping students in tertiary
institutions to access interest-free loans from the Nigerian education loan
fund.
Punch reports that Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU national
president, spoke of the initiative on Saturday at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
University (ATBU) in Bauchi.
Osodeke, who Christopher Piwuna, his deputy, represented,
said the federal government can fund Nigeria’s education system.
He said poor funding is a major challenge in Nigerian
institutions.
The ASUU lead said efforts should be focused on closing the
funding gap.
Osodeke said the union is against the student loan
initiative because it would only benefit private universities.
He said grants should be made available to students and
institutions if the government is serious about funding education.
The ASUU president
urged parents to join the union to ensure that the education system becomes
better.
“All these issues that have led to the introduction of the
loan, the issues of charges in our universities are as a result of poor
funding,” he said.
“This particular
effort by the government is supposed to meet that funding gap in the
universities.
“We believe that the Nigerian state can adequately fund
education with discipline. If the Nigerian state is serious, it can fund
education.
“We are against the student loan as a form of funding
education, we think the loan will go back into the coffers of private
individuals who are in government today who own private universities.
“We just want to show the government that we believe that
the resources are available to take care of education.”
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