- Professor Olasebikan Fakulojo criticizes the federal government’s exclusion of private university students from the student loan scheme as unjust
- He calls for equal access to loans for all Nigerian students, suggesting a loan cap to address funding disparities among institutions
The Vice-Chancellor of Joseph Ayodele Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State, Professor Olasebikan Fakulojo, has criticized the federal government for excluding private university students from the student loan scheme. He described the decision as an act of “injustice.”
Speaking during a media briefing ahead of JABU’s 15th convocation ceremony, Prof. Fakulojo questioned why students in private universities are denied access to loans meant to support Nigerian students in higher education.
He argued that all Nigerian students deserve equal access to such schemes, regardless of the type of institution they attend.
According to the vice-chancellor, the Nigerian University Student Loan Scheme Act does not explicitly exclude private university students.
He pointed out that private institutions contribute to public revenues through taxes, unlike public universities, making their exclusion unfair.
To ensure equity, Prof. Fakulojo suggested setting a loan cap, such as N500,000 or N1 million per student, to account for the differences in tuition fees across institutions. This measure, he believes, would address the funding disparities.
He highlighted JABU’s upcoming conference and shared that 626 graduates will receive degrees, including 50 first-class honours and 114 postgraduate awards in PGD, MSc, MA, and PhD categories.
Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, the wife of President Bola Tinubu, will be among those to be honoured with honorary doctorate degrees.
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