Tinubu Pledges to Increase Budgetary Allocation to Education Sector

•NANS meets president, calls for removal of lecturers, lawyers from students’ loan committee  

•Mixed reactions trail proposed student loan scheme, education bank 

•ActionAid Nigeria calls for priority for women, PWDs

Deji Elumoye, Ndubuisi Francis and Michael Olugbede in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has pledged his administration’s readiness to commit more resources to the education sector in order to ensure that every Nigerian child, regardless of their background, has access to quality education.

This was just as mixed reactions have trailed the Student Loan Bill signed into law by the president on Monday, which enables indigent students access federal government loans to fund their education.

Speaking Tuesday in his office at the State House, Abuja, when he played host to the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the president declared that poverty should not be a barrier to education, emphasising the transformative power of education in combating poverty.

According to him: “If we all believe that education is the greatest weapon against poverty then we have to invest in it.

”Poverty should not prevent anybody, any child, including the daughter or son of a wood seller, ‘Bole’ (plantain) seller or yam seller from attaining their highest standard of education, to eliminate poverty.

”If you eliminate poverty from one family, you can carry the rest of the weight.”

Tinubu, who promised to consider the requests of the NANS leaders, urged the students’ body to ensure unity among its members across the country to achieve more.

”You have to promote unity and stability among each other. You have to employ democratic means in your programmes and elections. I have to say anyone who is unable to accept and celebrate a free and fair election, does not deserve the joy of victory,” he admonished the students.

The president expressed appreciation for students’ support of the removal of subsidy on petrol, explaining the reasons behind the decision and the need to curb smuggling.

His words: ”I’m glad you understand the reason for the subsidy removal. We were at a point where Nigeria tried to draw water from a dry well and that is no longer acceptable and we equally must not continue to service the smugglers because they used to take our tankers and premium motor spirit (PMS) across the borders.  We will put our money where our mouth is”.

Earlier, President of NANS, Umar Barambu, said the leadership of the association were at the villa to thank the president over the signing into law of the Student Loan Bill, which would provide loans to indigent students such that no Nigerian student in tertiary institution will drop out of school over inability to pay school fees.

The bill, sponsored by former House of Representatives Speaker, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, was signed into law by President Tinubu on Monday, June 12, which is Democracy Day.

“We are here to congratulate you and to thank you for what you have been doing to the country since you assumed responsibility as the President.  We want to equally thank you for the Students Loan Bill,” Barambu said.

Declaring students’ support for the removal of fuel subsidy, the NANS president said: ”It takes a great person to take that bold step of removing the subsidy on petrol.  Some people contacted us to protest against that decision, but we said no!

”The well is dry and ‘Baba’ cannot give what we don’t have now. We have to accept reality and face that challenge squarely so that together we can rescue the country. Today we are saying ‘yes’ to fuel subsidy removal and we will stand with that decision.”

Later in an interview with newsmen after the meeting with Tinubu, Barambu, said they wanted inclusion of past national leaders of the association and exclusion of lecturers and lawyers.

According to him, the new Act would alleviate the plight of Nigerian students and afford them the opportunity to study with fewer difficulties.

Speaking on the clause of the Act that they were not comfortable with, the NANS President said: “We have outlined the clauses that we are not too comfortable with. And part of them is the issue of that board that we mentioned to the president, which we said at least students’ representatives should be captured and there are some some organisation that they put there, which to us, they don’t need to be there.

“We gave him an example, most especially the Nigerian Bar Association and ASUU. ASUU has their own microfinance bank, running their own affairs without students on their board. So I don’t think it’s wise for us to allow them to be inside our own board because it is purely students.

“We are the major stakeholders of that bank. So I don’t think allowing them to be there is good. Not only them, we mentioned a lot of people that they should remove and put more of student-oriented organisation.”

According to the Act, the committee consists of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria as the Chairman; the Secretary of the Fund who shall be appointed by the Chairman; the Minister responsible for education; the Chairman, National Universities Commission; a representative of Vice-Chancellors forum of all Nigeria Universities; a representative of the Rectors forums of all Nigerian Polytechnics and Provosts forum of all Colleges of Education in Nigeria; the Minister responsible for finance or his representative and the Auditor-General for the Federation.

Others are a representative of the Nigerian Labour Congress; a representative of the Nigerian Bar Association; and a representative of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Meanwhile, mixed reactions have trailed the Student Loan Bill signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, which enables indigent students access federal government loans to fund their education.

The new law also prescribes the creation of a Nigerian Education Bank with the aim of offering education for all Nigerians in matters pertaining to loans.

However, in separate reactions to THISDAY’s inquiry on what the emerging scheme portends, a former Commissioner for Finance in Imo State and President of the Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (ACMAN), Prof. Uche Uwaleke, and Chief Executive Officer, Emerging Africa Group, Mrs. Toyin Sanni provided different perspectives.

In his intervention, Uwaleke described the proposed education bank as a good concept, but queried its feasibility bearing in mind the current realities in the country.

He also expressed doubt on the success of the Student Loan Scheme without meeting certain preconditions in the light of the nation’s high unemployment rate.

Uwaleke said: “Education Bank is a good concept but the big question is: how feasible is it in today’s Nigeria?

“I have my doubts regarding the success of the student loan scheme unless certain preconditions are met. With high unemployment rate in the country, it is difficult to see how the student loans will be repaid.

“Having been through this route before, it’s important the cart is not put before the horse. I think a federal ‘scholarship board’ as opposed to ‘loan scheme’ stands to serve the purpose better.”

According to Uwaleke who is Nigeria’s first professor of capital market and a former Head of Department, Banking and Finance, Nasarawa State University, the difference was that the scholarship scheme would only be given to brilliant indigent students who are motivated to achieve high grades in school knowing full well that the scholarship is tied to their academic performance.

On the contrary, he added that student loans are not a function of school grades, stressing that as a matter of fact, a loan scheme operating via an edubank was prone to abuse, especially by politicians who are likely to see that as another ‘constituency project’ to empower as many beneficiaries as possible.

“If previous experience is anything to go by, many of the beneficiaries will see it as free money.”

In her reaction, Sanni noted that while the proposed Education Bank and Student Loan Scheme would offer promising opportunities, it was essential to consider potential downsides to ensure a balanced perspective.

She listed such downsides as debt burden, sustainability and loan default, administrative challenges, and impact on other sectors, among others.

According to her, it was important to thoroughly analyse and address these potential downsides to mitigate risks and maximise the positive impact of the Education Bank and Student Loan Scheme.

Sanni noted that the proposed Education Bank and Student Loan Scheme hold immense potential to revolutionise Nigeria’s tertiary education system and overall economic development.

“Laws are not always our problem in Nigeria. I don’t think this is viable and implementable,” the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said in a recent interview on Arise News Channel, noting that the high unemployment rate in the country remains a challenge.

“The first thing a lender worries about is the source of repayment of a loan. You are lending students money to get an education without knowing whether they would get a job. Therefore, I I don’t think lending money to students works anywhere. There is no point lending and giving debt forgiveness. I believe a much more viable action is to give scholarships and grants,” the chief executive, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, had also said.

He, therefore, advised that funds that would be saved from subsidy removal should be channeled towards the education sector.

Also, Taiwo Oyedele, of PwC, expressed doubt, “whether students’ loans would be a viable action today.”