The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the Federal Government to rescind its decision on the student’s loan scheme and replace it with a grants instead.
The ASUU Bauchi Zonal Coordinator Comrade Lazarus Maigoro made the call at the occasion of indigent scholarship Award presentation to 19 University undergraduate Bauchi zone students Held at the ATBU, Bauchi.
He said the move became imperative due to the harsh economic reliabilities in the county.
Comrade Lazarus Maigoro noted that, many students have dropped out of schools due to the inability of their parents to pay their schools fees or charges.
“ASUU Bauchi Zone is working on getting the statistics of Students who may likely drop out of school at the end of the current session with the hope of making the government review its decision on the issue of the loan and replace it with grants.
“I can authoritatively say without mincing words, that as we teach these students in the classrooms, we notice quite a number who are distressed due to the very harsh economic realities of our country.
“In the case of Federal Universities, the government seems to have abandoned its constitutional responsibility of funding Universities and left it at the discretion of the various governing councils of the universities to review it at will thereby making some students drop out of school.
According to him, the indigent student’s scholarship funded by both National and branch of ASUU has continue to support students towards the attainment of the educational objectives.
He ASUU as a Union decided to initiate the yearly scholarship award because of the predicament of the students who are sometimes prevented from writing examination on the basis of not being able to pay their scholarship which truncate the future of the students.
Presenting the ASUU National indigent scholarship to the beneficiaries, the ASUU president Professor Victor Asodoke said the one of the cardinal objectives of ASUU is to protect the interest of its members and to create good working relationship with its employers.
Represented by his vice, Associate Professor Christopher Piwuna, the ASUU President revealed that, the indigent scholarship award is one among the series of ASUU’sl intervention programmes towards the socioeconomic and development of the nation’s educational system.
Professor Victor Asodoke said the beneficiaries of the indigent scholarship awards were selected after meeting the ASUU’s criteria, adding that, the exercise is going to be a continues one.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Love Sharon Joseph thanked ASUU for the humanitarian gesture and promised to make effective utilization of the money provided to them to support their education.
