“If low-paid workers do not qualify as poor in the wisdom of the drafters of this legislation, then who exactly is poor in this country?”
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Speakers at a press conference convened by an education watchdog group, Education Rights Campaign (ERC), were unanimous in their condemnation of the recently signed Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2023.
The condemnations followed the reading of a clause-by-clause analysis of the Student Loan Act, which forms the text of a press statement signed by Comrades Ogunjimi Isaac, ERC Deputy National Coordinator and Adaramoye Michael Lenin, ERC’s National Mobilisation Officer.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the student loan bill into law on June 12, which is legislation authored by the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, now Chief-Of-Staff to the new president.
Those who spoke at the event, after listening to the clause-by-clause analysis of the new legislation, concluded that the Student Loan Act was the work of con-artist whose aim was to hoodwink the mass of Nigerian people into thinking that the scheme expands access to higher education when in actual sense, shuts the door more firmly against the majority of Nigerians seeking higher education.
Firstly, ERC argues on the scheme’s aim and objective which is spelt out in Section 13 of the Act. The Section states: ‘The fund shall be to facilitate the mobilization of funds to provide interest-free loans to students of higher learning in Nigeria for the payment of TUITION FEES.’
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ERC says by virtue of Section 13, the fund only takes care of tuition fees (fees for instruction or teaching) of students. It argues that the loan does not take care of sundry charges which form the bulk of student’s school expenses such as admission fees, acceptance fees, library fees, ICT fees, development levies, accommodation fees, matriculation fees, convocation fees, etc.
“Now since the prospective loan beneficiaries are indigent, how will they pay the sundry fees which in many higher institutions run into thousands of Naira? If an indigent student pays tuition fees through a loan but has no money to pay for acceptance fees or library fees or development levy, will they be admitted?” ERC asked.
ERC also noted that some new-generation universities and polytechnics have no hostel policy, hence students in those institutions are forced to raise hundreds of thousands of naira to pay for accommodation elsewhere. ERC says in most cases, the cost of such accommodation may be equal to or greater than the school fees of the student. “What exactly does this Act resolve?” the group queried.
On Section 14, subsection (b) of the Students Loan Act which states that ‘applicant income or family income must be less than N500, 000 per annum,’ ERC says that shows the legislation is an absurd contrivance and its drafters are those living on the moon.
It argued: “To understand the profound absurdity of this provision, let us examine the minimum wage law in Nigeria. By virtue of the Minimum Wage Act 2019, the lowest-paid worker in Nigeria is meant to take home nothing less than N30,000 per month. Now, dividing N500,000 by 12 calendar months will give you N42,000 as the maximum income the beneficiary’s family must have.
“By saying family, it is logically inferable that the Act means the salary of not one but both parents. Therefore, by virtue of the Minimum Wage Act, the lowest family income of two parents should be nothing less than N60,000 on a monthly basis which would be N720,000 per annum – an amount that is far above the threshold contemplated in the Act. This means that the children of the lowest-paid worker will not be able to access this loan. If low-paid workers do not qualify as poor in the wisdom of the drafters of this legislation, then who exactly is poor in this country? What rationale did the drafters of this legislation use in determining the criteria for qualification?”
ERC also examines subsection (c) of the Act which says the applicant must provide at least two guarantors and each of the guarantors shall be (i) a civil servant of at least level 12 (ii) a lawyer with at least 10 years post-call experience (iii) judicial officer, or (iv) justice of the peace.
The section also stipulates that the guarantors are meant to accompany the application with their particulars showing their employer’s details, banking details, a copy of CAC registration and a letter stating they ‘accept liability in the event of default.’
ERC argued that the section is grossly absurd because poor and indigent people are the least likely to know a top civil servant, lawyer or judicial officer who can stand for them as a guarantor to obtain a loan.
On the repayment model, ERC observed that it could lead to suicidal thoughts because repayment commences two years after the applicant completes their National Youth Service Corps, not minding whether they get a job.
ERC says it is a fact that a majority of graduates in Nigeria seldom get any jobs at all within the first two years after they leave school. “In fact, many can still be unemployed five years after NYSC. So, how does the government expect unemployed beneficiaries to begin repayment?” the group queried.
After the clause-by-clause analysis of the legislation, ERC said the solution is not to review the Student Loan Act but to scrap it because the solution to the problem of education in Nigeria is proper funding and democratic management of schools.
“This is the only way to ensure that the children of the working people and the poor masses are able to go to school.”
Notable Rights Activists, including ERC National Coordinator, Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto, Achike Chude of Joint Action Front, and Gideon Adeyemi (ERC Spokesperson) were present at the briefing.
Some representatives of ERC from different tertiary institutions including Babalola Benjamin (University of Ibadan, Coordinator), Toyyib Duroorike (LASU Coordinator) and Adesina Suliat were also present.