The National Association of Nigerian Students has advised the Federal Government to prioritize reducing the high cost of education rather than providing loans to students.
The Senate President of the NANS, Henry Okuomo, gave this advice on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s programme, Sunrise Daily.
Okuomo emphasized that making education more affordable would be more beneficial to students than offering loans that may not be repaid due to high unemployment rates.
Okuomo expressed concerns about the accessibility and modalities of the loan program, citing a lack of feedback from NELFUND.
He proposed that the government reduce tuition fees in tertiary institutions to between N20,000 and N50,000, making education more accessible.
Recall that the student loan scheme is a flagship project of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, introduced through the Access to Higher Education Act.
However, NANS argues that reducing education costs would be a more effective solution to address the challenges faced by Nigerian students.
“For now, we don’t know who the beneficiaries of those loans are. We don’t know those who have applied for the loans and the modalities of getting the loans because it is not even accessible to some students.
“We know those who have tried getting the loans that couldn’t get it. We have reached out to NELFUND on the issue but haven’t been able to get feedback.
“Apart from the loan, we propose that instead of giving loans to the students, the government should reduce the cost of education.
“They should bring down the cost being paid by tertiary institutions to between N20,000 and N50,000. This will allow anybody to be able to access education if the fee is affordable. But now, even with the loan that they are giving us, we do not know the modalities for payment.
“Is it this country now that a graduate is not able to get a job that a loan will be paid back to the government?
