The suspension of the highly anticipated student loan scheme introduced by the Federal Government has sparked mixed reactions from professional groups and Nigerians on social media platforms.
Some netizens and groups have knocked the decision and expressed frustration and disappointment, seeing it as a setback for students anticipating financial support for their education. They also criticised the government for what they perceived as incompetence and lack of commitment to fulfilling promises.
Some Netizens and groups have, however, hailed the decision, noting that the delay was necessary to ensure the proper implementation of the scheme.
The launch of the Nigerian Student Loan Scheme was indefinitely postponed by the Federal Government on Tuesday.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyer, made this known during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday.
This postponement, occurring just 48 hours before the scheduled launch of the scheme was attributed to necessary corrections being made.
The scheme, initially proposed by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023, was intended to provide interest-free loans for higher education.
Despite preparations, including the creation of a dedicated website, the launch was delayed multiple times.
Meanwhile, various stakeholders, such as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and concerned citizens, have voiced their concerns and criticisms regarding the suspension, highlighting issues of transparency, government accountability, and the impact on students.
While some viewed the delay as necessary to ensure effective policy execution, others criticized it as indicative of broader governance issues, including a lack of transparency and accountability.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Lagos (UNILAG) while reacting to the suspension of the scheme renewed its call for free education, saying Nigerian students do not desire the FG’s education loan.
ASUU UNILAG stated this on its X handle on Wednesday.
ASUU_UNILAG said, “📢 The message is simple and clear 🔊🔊🔊
#WeShallOvercome #AlutaContinua #VictoriaAscerta #SolidarityForever #ASUU.”
Also, an X user, Omaconsultant03 while reacting wrote, “Really confused government.
-CNG buses not yet seen
-Student loan cancelled
-Civil servant Palliative not consistent
-Conditional cash transfer failed
And yet the claim of subsidy is gone stand
Please God intervene in Nigeria’s issues.”
“FG assumes all Nigerian students are perhaps making money from online frauds and all! The interest and well-being of Nigerians never bother these politicians.
oredolalaide, another netizen wrote: “If a politician goes around acting like ‘fighting for the people’, he’s just fighting for his ambitions and relevance,”
DeborahToluwase on the other hand wrote, “The Federal Government honestly needs to come clean on this student loan thingy. Ajuri came out two days ago to say that the Student Loan scheme will be launched on Thursday (Tomorrow);
“only for the Executive Secretary of the Loan Fund, Akin Sawyerr to say that some corrections still needed to be made and hence he can’t commit to a certain date as regards the launch. This is not a good image at all. Why give a launch date for a half-baked policy?”
akomscopy while also reacting on the X platform wrote, “The reason why this delay in the student loan scheme is generating mixed reactions is because the policy, when implemented, will be beneficial to mostly the poor and middle class. It’s important for the government to get it right, once and for all.”
“If you study the body language of Mr President, you will know he wants to give it all, and he (president) said ‘nobody should be left behind” when it comes to this scheme’.
“Not leaving anyone behind means there must be due diligence in getting many things right before launching,” he stated.
ashman_babane wrote, “🤣🤣🤣🤣 They have nothing to offer, it’s just a mouth-washing promise, Nigeria is so easy to predict in terms of the governance policies.
“The first day we heard this my boss said all na lie, and here we are🤣. The system is not to make life okay is set up against citizens.”
“The pitfall in this loan is one big issue, transparency in its administration and implementation is another. But one troubling part in all this is the back-tracking of this government’s policies. It seems that all their campaign promises were not realistic and well thought out,” VictorIbetoEsq wrote.
darligton_ stated, “Lol…they just used it as an excuse to increase school fees. This govt is full of scammers.”