The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
has criticised the Federal Government’s education funding model through
the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), describing it as a policy
that commercialises education instead of treating it as a social investment.
ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, stated
this on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast
programme, The Morning Brief, where he reacted to the rising tuition
fees in Nigerian universities.
According to him, the government’s insistence on
providing loans instead of grants reflects a “marketplace mentality” that
undermines the social purpose of education.
“Our initial position has been that what they call
loans should have been grants to universities. But over time, the government
has seen education as a profit-making, a marketplace kind of thing,” he said.
Prof. Piwuna noted that ASUU had previously advised
the government to review the structure of the loan scheme but its suggestions
were ignored.
“They have decided to run it through NELFUND. We have
given them advice. They have the right to accept our advice or not. We want it
to succeed. We wish them the best,” he added.
Students Afraid of Taking Loans
The ASUU president questioned the effectiveness of the
NELFUND scheme, pointing to the low number of student applicants as evidence of
poor acceptance.
“We have about a little over 2 million students in
universities across the country. The last figure I saw was about 300 or 400,000
who have applied. Does that mean 1.6 million students can afford their
education? Certainly not,” he said.
He explained that many students are reluctant to apply
because they fear the burden of repayment.
“Students are afraid of how they will repay these
loans. They are not happy that their education cannot be supported by
government unless they take a loan,” he stated.
ASUU Rejects NELFUND Board Offer
Prof. Piwuna also revealed that ASUU declined an
invitation to join NELFUND’s governing board, stressing that the union prefers
to maintain its independence while hoping for the scheme’s success.
“We are not part of NELFUND. We turned down their
offer to make us board members. We hope it succeeds because it is said to be in
the interest of students and their future,” he said.
Calls for Tuition Fee Harmonisation
The ASUU president further decried the arbitrary hike
in tuition fees across federal and state universities, some of which have
increased by up to 1,000 percent, and called for regulation by the Ministry
of Education.
“You pay about ?125,000 to study medicine in one
federal university, while another charges nearly ?400,000 for the same course.
There’s a clear need for harmonisation if they truly want a fair system,” he
said.
He maintained that providing grants to
universities would have been a better and fairer funding model.
“If you decide that for first-generation universities,
this is what you do; for second and third-generation universities, this is what
you give them—it harmonises everything,” he said.
Prof. Piwuna concluded that ASUU is not opposed to
government policies but seeks a more inclusive and equitable education funding
system.
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