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Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has again expressed concerns over the student loan bill recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.
While speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics on Sunday, June 18, 2023, Osodeke, who recently described the Students Loans Act as discriminatory asked the president to change it to grants for poor students.
“This would have been better if we are giving it to those set of students who are very poor, it should be called a grant, not a loan.
“It should be called a grant since it is coming from the Federation Account and not that (after) these people have accessed it and when they are graduating, they have heavy loads behind them and within two years, if they don’t pay, they go to jail,” Osodeke said.
ASUU President also complained that the conditions for the loan were not practicable, adding that more than 90% of students won’t meet the requirements to access the loan.
According to Osodeke, ASUU’s research on students loan showed that beneficiaries of the scheme in other countries end up committing suicide.
“We, as a union also did research of countries all over the world, of people who have benefited from this loan, they were committing suicide, he said.
Recall that President Tinubu signed the Students Loans Bill into law on Monday, June 12, 2023.
The funds will only be accessed by indigent students of tertiary institutions at interest-free rates.