‘Student Loan Not Enough’ – Gbajabiamila Speaks On Quality Education Funding In Nigeria

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu‘s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, has expressed concern over quality education funding in Nigeria.

According to him, the Students’ Loan Scheme, which will commence fully in January 2024, is insufficient for education funding.

The former Speaker of the House of Representatives stated this in Lagos on Friday while delivering a lecture titled “Empowering Nigerian Youths in the Present Day Economy” at the 35th convocation ceremony of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH).

While reassuring that the federal government will soon commence the loan scheme to give Nigerian students access to fund their educational aspirations, Gbajabiamila said to make the process seamless, “applicants will apply online, be verified online, and be credited based on the verifiable documents and credentials they have submitted.”

He said, “Earlier this year, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR signed the Students’ Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act, establishing the Education Loan Fund and creating a new legal framework to provide education financing through interest-free loans to Nigerian students. Efforts are underway to ensure that by January 2024, Nigerian students can access these loans to fund their educational aspirations. The application system for the student loan programme is being designed so that there is no interface between the loan administrators and the beneficiaries. Applicants will apply online, be verified online, and be credited based on the verifiable documents and credentials they have submitted. Nobody will need to know anybody to qualify for these loans, so that access to this financing will be genuinely egalitarian.

“The student loan system answers part of the question of how to fund a quality public tertiary education but doesn’t answer all of it. Any serious conversation about the future of tertiary education in Nigeria must include thoroughly considering the ways and means of addressing the funding needs of public tertiary institutions beyond government subvention. In this regard, we cannot for much longer avoid the simple truth that tertiary education costs money, and the best institutions worldwide succeed, amongst other things, because they can generate significant sums through fees, investments and other means.

“The simple truth is that for our institutions to compete favourably, we need more resources than are currently available to address the dangerous decline in the quality of scholarship and academic output and the graduates we produce from many of our institutions.”

He stated that in a perfect world, access to education would be a fundamental benefit afforded to every individual from basic through tertiary.

“And our learning centres will be majestic citadels of research and innovation, open to all who seek knowledge, regardless of means. But this is not a perfect world. In this real world, education is a commodity and a quality education even more so. Therefore, the central public policy challenge is the conflict between the competing objectives of access and quality. How do we fund a quality tertiary education without imposing costs that make access to quality education impossible for most people?

“We require a programme of aggressive and sustained investment in education. Not only in the physical infrastructure of classrooms and lecture halls but in technology hardware and software to facilitate information exchange and innovation,” the Presidential aide stated.

In his address, YABATECH Rector, Dr. Ibraheem Abdul said the institution is dedicated to empowering the youth through its various programs, with a strong focus on producing technical manpower for Nigeria’s economic and social development.

To further enhance its role, he said the management has established an Industry Advisory Committee.

According to him, the college has been leading the way in manpower development, technological advancement, and youth empowerment.

The Rector highlighted several initiatives aimed at empowering the youth, such as the Quadruple Helix Collaboration Scheme for Youth Empowerment. Additionally, the establishment of a Centre for Technology Marketing and Product Development, the YCT Industry Alliance Group (YIAG) Program and the Students Work and Study Scheme are among the initiatives implemented by the school.