Asuu Denounces Proposed Education Loan Scheme

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has recently expressed a strong opposition to the proposed education loan scheme.

ASUU warns that the proposition would burden students with permanent debt. 

The union issued the statement after ASUU's National Executive Council meeting at the Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State.

The union raised concerns that the Students Loan Scheme, supported by international money lending agencies like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, would deprive public universities of funding. 

It also claimed that the scheme could divert public funds into private universities owned by politically exposed individuals, leading to perpetual indebtedness for students.

ASUU suggested that grants and scholarships should be provided to students, and the Needs-Based Budgeting System should be reinstated in universities for greater efficiency. The union condemned the recent fee hikes in schools and urged the government to use diverted funds from treasuries to support universities.

It however criticized the Bola Tinubu-led administration for failing to fulfill promises made to address the issues that led to the nationwide strike from February to October 2022. 

The union highlighted the government's historical negligence in implementing agreements, such as the payment of Earned Academic Allowance and the unprogressive renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement.

National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, criticized the government for not fulfilling the MoU 2013, which allocated N1.3 trillion over six years for university restoration. He called on the Tinubu administration to conduct a needs assessment exercise to justify massive intervention in public universities, similar to the initiative in 2012 that led to the N1.3 trillion allocation, which has since been neglected by the government.