Student Loan: Ploy to Oppress Nigerian Students, Says ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Calabar Zone has decribed the Federal Government’s student loan, as a ploy to enslave Nigerian students.

Rocketparrot News reports that about 3,764 students from 126 institutions sent in applications on the opening day after the student loan portal was declared open.

The Federal Government explained that the initiative was to ensure that no Nigerian youth is denied higher education on account of lack of funds.

But addressing a press conference in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital on Monday, the Zonal Chairperson of ASUU, Dr Happiness Uduk, insisted that the student loan was a ploy to enslave Nigerian youths.

Uduk, in a statement jointly signed by the eight union chairpersons, insisted that instead of loans, the Federal Government should give subvention to higher institutions.

Uduk said, “It is disheartening that people who attended schools on scholarship, enjoyed meal subsidies, free laundry services, and bursary awards are the same running our economy today.

“Their children are on scholarship in the best foreign universities in the world but after siphoning our economy, they turn around to impose a strangulating education loan on taxpayers’ children who will be enslaved and remain indebted to the country forever. They do not mind the devastating effect of this scheme on the country, such as depression, suicide, and colossal loss of intellectuals.

“To this end, we vehemently condemn the idea of education loans and state clearly that using the money for intervention in higher institutions will bring about a positive turnaround of events that will make our institutions self-reliant with highly subsidised tertiary education in Nigeria.”

The ASUU chairperson called on the Federal Government to come to a renegotiation table and reconvene a committee to review the agreement reached by ASUU leadership and Prof. Nimi Brigs-led government committee with a view to adjusting the document according to the current economic realities so as to have acceptable salary structure for university lecturers.