ASUU Faults FG Student Loan Scheme

...Calls For  improved Varsity funding

The Ebonyi State University chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has faulted the recent approved federal government Student’s Loan scheme, saying its realisation and viability were not sustainable.

The union, however, called for a renegotiation of its demands: improved funding for revitalisation, university autonomy and academic freedom across the nation’s universities.

The Chairman of EBSU-ASUU chapter, Dr  Ikechuku  Igwenyi  said this during a briefing in Abakaliki, the state capital.

He said: “ The education system  in Nigeria has been bedevilled by underfunding and successive governments. Consequently, public primary and secondary schools have been destroyed, and their teachers have very low self-esteem as the poorest of public servants in Nigeria, with most of them earning less than $20 per  month.

“This deplorable and unfortunate situation has encouraged the massive drift of students from Public schools to privately-owned primary and secondary schools in Nigeria, where people are exploited for ‘quality’ education.

"Having  achieved the destruction of the basic education system, it seems now is the turn of tertiary institutions.

“This  anomaly, ASUU has vowed to resist and is exactly the reason ASUU is asking for renegotiation, improved funding for revitalization, university autonomy and academic freedom.

“These basic problems of our university education system have been truncated with several diversionary policies such as non-payment of Earned Academic Allowances, imposition of IPPIS, threats to the University Autonomy and autonomy of the University Senate by the forceful introduction of CCMAS, obnoxious notional promotion clauses, threat to union leaders for public advocacy, unregulated proliferation of state and private universities when there is no funding capacity, among a myriad of others. Today, the story is about the Student Loan Scheme.”