In partial response to the ongoing crisis and lack of funding in ASUU breaking out in the federal university, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed into law the student loan bill. Under this law, Nigerian students will receive interest-free loans to support them throughout their time in government-owned schools. Beneficiaries are expected to repay their loan as soon as they start working, that is, two years after their national service. Beneficiaries need to apply to the President of the bank through the senior management of their respective companies who have gained access to the school. The law states that any student whose parents earn more than 500,000 per year will not qualify for the loan. Of course, this part of the law will be reviewed. As usual in such loan companies, recipients will be required to provide two guarantors to meet the required qualifications - an employee of the 12th grade and above or a member of the clergy! Also, a student whose parents have defaulted on their loan will not be eligible for an interest-free loan. Also, students who have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving dishonesty or fraud, or who have been convicted of a drug-related offense will not qualify for the loan. Loan repayment, as mentioned earlier, is scheduled to begin two years after the National Youth Service Corps ends. What is not clear to me is what will happen if, after completing the first degree, the recipient migrates from Nigeria in search of greener grass! But it is up to the government to worry about it! No doubt, this is a welcome development.
The president should be commended for taking power since the foundation is made even before he is elected. Some actions of the President show that he came ready for the job after years of waiting. The type of high school funding that we are currently investing in has fallen dramatically. You can see that with half an eye! No need for patchwork. It needs a total overhaul. Nowhere is education free. Who pays for it? If the federal government has decided to give out student loans to help them pay for tuition, no one, group, or group in their right mind should be dealing with the government. What should concern us is the situation and how this system will hold the cabal in the Nigerian culture. Should there be a bank established for this purpose or should we accept three to five big banks to save and provide the money if they pay a percentage of the money? What would it mean to create a new agency to manage student loans? What guarantee is there that students will repay the loan? What if the beneficiary is unemployed two or three years after graduation? In the event of default, such as if the beneficiary emigrates, what will the State do? Will the recipients submit their certificates to the officers before NYSC? These are the questions on the minds of viewers and locals. My answer is that the government must have a ready answer because they operate in Nigerian soil and know our shenanigans.
The university system needs to be overhauled - from the teaching process to the curriculum and learning outcomes. The salaries of university professors will be reviewed immediately. An assistant teacher, a non-academic entry, earns 100,000 naira per month. This salary has been fixed since 2009. The students live in poverty, far from the comfort of the university environment of the 1980s. The library will have more books and magazines. Students often take reading seriously. Students will feel more comfortable in school. In addition, students will enjoy their studies because they will pay for their studies. President Tinubu is readying the nation for a new approach to education policy formulation and implementation. Courts have disbanded our beloved ASUU after a new battle for wages after a long breakup. The federal government used the courts to crack down on the group and demoralize it. Even within the university system, there are doubts about whether ASUU still has plans to lead scholars to the Promised Land.
This is why the group has to reinvent itself and restore the confidence of its followers. In my opinion, ASUU's refusal to oppose the student loan agency is a killer! Interestingly, NANS officials visited a president to thank him for the initiative and demand that ASUU be removed from the board! Are these ASUU students fighting? Let the welfare of the educated be the main purpose of the educational organization. ASUU, please go back to the drawing board and listen to your team! It is expected that President Tinubu will take other measures to recover secondary schools. At the outset, he should order the honor and implementation of the gentleman's agreement made by the head of the House of Assembly with ASUU.
Academics have been in the same salary structure since 2009, and of course, the education that pays the rent can't bring them home! Salaries paid by ASUU must be paid to show their good faith. It is expected that the university will be given funds from TETFUND in the form of non-subsidy from Abuja to meet their needs. In this way, he will win over many educated people on his side. Also, universities want complete autonomy in the management of their affairs. In my opinion, no central institution should decide the curriculum of universities and colleges, thus taking over the role of the Senate. The government must remember that tuition fees alone will not be sufficient for the operation of the university. In other words, the government should not replace funding for education with subsidies and other forms of assistance. Education is critical to non-commercial activity.
