The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticised the Federal Government’s student loan initiative under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), arguing that it commercialises education rather than treating it as a social investment.
Gatekeepers News reports that ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, made the comments on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, while reacting to the continuous rise in tuition fees across Nigerian universities.
“Our initial position has been that what they call loans should have been grants to universities,” Piwuna said. “But over time, the government has seen education as a profit-making, a marketplace kind of thing.”
He said the union had previously advised the government to review the loan structure but that its recommendations 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. They have decided to go with it as a loan. We want it to succeed. We wish them the best,” he added.
Students Fear Loan Burden
Prof. Piwuna questioned the effectiveness of the NELFUND programme, pointing to low student participation as a sign of limited acceptance.
“Government may be talking about the number of students that they have that have applied, the amount of money that they’ve paid. I think we have about a little over two million students in universities across the country. The last figure I saw was about 300 or 400 thousand of those who have applied,” he said.
He noted that the figures suggest that most students are unwilling to take on debt.
“Is that to say that 1.6 or 1.7 million students in Nigeria have a means of supporting themselves and so do not need NELFUND loans? That’s certainly not the case,” he stated.
“The point is that students are themselves afraid of taking loans. Students are afraid of how they will repay these loans. Students are not happy that their education cannot be supported by the government unless they take a loan,” he added.
ASUU Declines NELFUND Board Position
Piwuna also revealed that ASUU had turned down an invitation to serve on NELFUND’s governing board, explaining that the union prefers to remain independent while still wishing the scheme success.
“We are not part of NELFUND. We have turned down their offer to make us board members,” he said. “All we can say to them is that we wish them well. We hope it succeeds. We pray it succeeds because they say it is in the interest of students and their future.
“We want Nigerian students to have a great future. We want them to complete their studies. If that works for them through NELFUND, fine.”
ASUU Calls for Tuition Fee Harmonisation
On the issue of rising tuition fees, Piwuna said the increases — in some cases up to 1,000% — require regulation and oversight from the Federal Ministry of Education.
“What the universities are doing with increasing charges is something that needs to be controlled,” he said. “You pay about N125,000 to study medicine in one federal university, while another federal university charges nearly N400,000 for the same course. There’s a clear need for harmonisation if they truly want a fair system.”
He maintained that government grants to universities would have been a more equitable solution.
“We still maintain that grants would have been the best way to manage these increases. If you decide that for first-generation universities, this is what you do; second-generation universities, this is what you give them; third-generation, this is what you give them; specialised universities, this is what you give them — it harmonises everything,” he said.
Prof. Piwuna emphasised that ASUU is not opposed to government initiatives but believes education funding should prioritise fairness and accessibility.
