By Abibat Jimoh

The Tinubu administration has recently made headlines for its introduction of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), aimed at providing student loans to ‘qualified’ beneficiaries. However, a closer examination of this scheme reveals it is not designed to make education accessible to all but rather to limit access to public education. It shifts the financial burden of funding education to the working class, particularly parents struggling to make ends meet in a fragile economy.

President Bola Tinubu has openly stated that the government can no longer adequately fund education, signaling the inevitable introduction of tuition fees in public tertiary institutions. This has already resulted in astronomic fee hikes in universities such as the University of Ibadan, the University of Lagos, the University of Benin, Ekiti State University, and the University of Ilesa, among others, in the current academic session.

The Federal Government has portrayed the student loan scheme as the solution to the challenges facing the tertiary education sector. However, it ignores the root causes of these challenges: deteriorating lecture theatres, inadequate laboratories, unequipped libraries, lack of qualified lecturers, and poor infrastructure. These issues can only be resolved through increased public funding of education, leveraging on a judicious use of the nation’s substantial resources.

The Federal Government claims that ₦116.1 billion was disbursed to support students, with ₦37 billion allocated for institutional loans covering tuition and fees, and ₦78 billion provided as upkeep loans for living expenses, (FG disburses N116.184b loan to Nigerian students — News — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News ). However, these figures warrant scrutiny to ensure transparency and assess their real impact on the lives of students and the education sector.

In the 2025 national budget, only ₦3.5 trillion—a mere 7% of the budget—was allocated to education. This is significantly lower than other African nations with smaller economies, such as Rwanda (15%), Kenya (25%), and Ghana (13%). This disparity highlights where the interests of Nigeria’s ruling elite lie. In a country with over 20 million children out of school—the highest globally—and where over 50% of the population is youth, the refusal to invest adequately in education is both shortsighted and detrimental to national development.

To the ruling class, education is a commodity rather than a public good. The introduction of the loan scheme essentially tells students to either take out loans if they ‘qualify’ or drop out of school if they cannot afford to pay. This is in direct contradiction to the Nigerian constitution, which guarantees the right to education regardless of socio-economic status. Sadly, the current administration views education as a profit-making venture, further reinforcing its abandonment of public funding for this critical sector.

The History and Risks of Student Loan Schemes in Nigeria

This is not the first time a student loan scheme has been introduced in Nigeria. A similar initiative was introduced by General Yakubu Gowon regime in 1972 and by the early 1980s had eventually folded up due to mismanagement of funds and inadequate funding. There is little reason to believe that the current scheme will fare any better. The loan scheme serves as a distraction, diverting attention from the real issues: poor infrastructure, inadequate learning materials, underpaid lecturers, and the overall poor quality of education.

The Burden of Repayment

The repayment structure of the loan scheme raises serious concerns. Beneficiaries are expected to begin repayment two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), with 10% of their salary deducted monthly or a similar percentage applied to self-employed individuals. However, with no guaranteed employment after graduation, this repayment plan is unrealistic.

The Nigerian Graduate Report 2022 revealed that 58.9% of HND graduates, 49.55% of OND graduates, and 39.75% of bachelor’s degree holders are unemployed. Additionally, a report by KPMG stated that Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose from 37.7% in 2022 to 40.6% in 2023, with approximately 4.4 million job seekers entering the market annually (https://punchng.com/student-loans-and-tertiary-education-funding-crisis/). Under these conditions, expecting graduates to repay loans is impractical and unsustainable.

Even in advanced economies, student loan schemes have faced significant challenges. In the United States, for example, President Joe Biden recently approved the cancellation of $189 billion in student loans for 5.3 million borrowers  (https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/01/18/biden-last-student-loan-forgiveness-approval/), acknowledging the failures of their student loan system. If a highly developed nation like the U.S. has struggled to make such schemes work, how can Nigeria, with its underdeveloped economy and poorly managed public resources, expect to succeed?

Nigeria is a country blessed with abundant human and natural resources. Proper management of these resources could easily fund the education sector and make quality education accessible to all. The Movement for a Socialist Alternative advocates for adequate public funding of education, managed democratically by stakeholders, including workers, students, youth, and artisans.

The failure of the capitalist system continues to exacerbate Nigeria’s multidimensional challenges, from poverty to education inequality. Without a shift towards a socialist system that prioritises the needs of the people over profit, these issues will persist.

The Tinubu administration’s student loan scheme is not a solution but a strategy to mask its failure to invest in education. The real solution lies in prioritising education as a fundamental right and ensuring it is publicly funded to benefit all citizens, regardless of their socio-economic background.