Curiously, President Ahmad Bola Tinubu seems to be getting plaudits for the same reasons that numerous others before him were almost chased out of office as President or Heads of State.
Our recent experience was President Goodluck Jonathan who had to endure almost two weeks of relentless protest led by his immediate past two successors when he attempted full-scale withdrawal of subsidy on petrol in 2012.
In 1978, the country stood on its head due to violent protests and riots by students that ensued from the introduction of tuition fees by then Head of State, Gen Olusegun Obasanjo.
Many see the recent assent to the Bill on the establishment of the Students’ Loan Scheme as a precursor to the withdrawal of whatever subsidy is left on education.
For instance, without pretense, the basic tenet of the law provides that “These loans will be allocated for the payment of tuition fees, addressing financial barriers that often impede students’ access to education.” The implication of this measure is that the government shall then cease substantial funding of its tertiary institutions.
As today’s Nigerians would normally capture a revolutionary pronouncement with such far-reaching implications, in their lingo, President Tinubu is “shaking the table”. But surprisingly, not many are batting eyelids. Indeed, not a few like the steps taken so far!
This confounding acquiescence or benevolent attitude of the usually vocal minority that could have been most vehement in their opposing to policies like this in the past, led NIGERIAN ANCHOR to seek an interpretation from a notable academic and Secretary to the Committee of Vice Chancellors, Professor Yakubu Ochefu.
The students’ loan programme “is not an entirely new policy”, he retorted. “In the 70s and 80s, there was a Loans Board. The second thing is, do we need it? And my own answer is yes”, he announced.
Professor Ochefu hinged his support for the re-introduction of the students’ loan scheme on several factors. One of these, he said, is the fact that “education had become a game changer in many ways as far as our knowledge-driven economy and society is concerned. So, the uneducated practically don’t have to stand a chance. And even those that are educated, they need to unlearn certain things and relearn new things. So, we’re now living in a world of continuous education.”
The Professor of History is of the conviction however, that access to the credit facility should not be limited to university undergraduates.
“It’s not just for people who are getting admission into the university”, he advised. “Individuals struggling to acquire new skills to be able to find jobs in the Fourth Industrial Revolution should also be eligible for the loan”, he added.
Arguing further, Prof Ochefu supported the idea of establishing an education bank to midwife the scheme, even though he took exception to limit access to the facility only to “admission letter holders” or entry-level undergraduates. In his view, this runs short of the demand structure of the students. For instance, a student at the entry point may not have a need for the facility, possibly because he/she may have parents or guardians that are well off. But this support base may suddenly cease, either because the guardian died or lost their source of income. But the Act is not clear as to whether such disadvantaged students may qualify for the loan.
Not a Knee-Jerk Reaction
Coming quickly after the abrupt stoppage of subsidy on petrol, some wonder if the sudden assent to the Bill which paved the way for the Act for a student loan scheme, had been properly thought through by a government that was barely up to two weeks old and yet to roll out up to one percent of its critical support staff.
“My interpretation is that it was hurriedly put together. A good idea hurriedly put together. I don’t think they did some sensitization of the stakeholders because I’m aware that the speaker, the then speaker, invited stakeholders to come and discuss this matter.
“And some of the ideas that have come out in terms of the structure of the bank itself, the education bank, the composition of the board, where the funding is going to come from will have benefited from inputs in from these stakeholders. But having said that, there are gaps in the current legislation that will need to be adjusted as we begin to operationalize it.
“One major gap is the mention of admission letter holders. Is the bill saying you can only take this loan if you are an entry-level student in an institution of higher learning? So, assuming I am in my first year, and I did not require a loan because my parents or my guardians were buoyant enough to pay my school fees. But along the line in my third year, they are challenged or they are deceased or something. Does it mean that I will not be able to qualify for that particular loan? So the Act as it is, is not very clear on that.
I’m sure those will become operational matters,” Ochefu said.
“You know, once the bank takes off to address some of those issues like its being only available to students in public tertiary institutions is also something that we think was not thought through. They should be available to any Nigerian who wants to go to school. We have more private tertiary institutions than public.
“As we speak, you can create different sets of rules. So if I want to go to a private university, maybe the terms and conditions for giving me that loan will be slightly different than if I have to go to a public university.
“Laws to restrict it to only government institutions will do injustice to a lot of other Students in the system. So those are the 2:00. And then of course, the third one has to be the repayment period, which again I believe is too short,” Ochefu concluded.
