The Federal Ministry of Education has said that it bailed out Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zariaof its N1 billion electricity debt due to the inability of the institutions to pay the bill.
Andrew Adejo, the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, had this to say on Tuesday while appearing before the House Committee investigating the implementation of the student loan scheme.
Responding to committee members’ questions about the increased fees by federal universities, he said the institutions grapple with the provision of public services in schools.
“For example, we had to bail out Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with around N1 billion to pay its electricity bill. The school simply resumed academic sessions because it was dark.
“They were supposed to build theaters, and we told them they can’t build theaters when it’s dark because they need power to operate,” he said.
The financing of federal universities has become a major problem facing the education sector lately.
President Bola Tinubu, in his manifesto, promised student loans to give institutions the ability to charge more cost-reflective tuition fees.
In June, Mr. Tinubu signed the Student Loan Bill into law.
According to Mr. Adejo, the scheme will start in the 2023/2024 academic session.
No provision for student loans in the 2023 budget – CBN Director
For his part, the director of Legal Services of CBN, Kofo Alada, has asked the National Assembly to consider a complementary budget that allows the student loan to take off.
He noted that the scheme will start in September, but there is no provision for it in the 2023 budget.
“What I will request or recommend to this committee is the funding requirement of this project. This body (parliament) has the power to convene and say that we want to give a supplementary budget for this particular project; it is in their power,” Alada said while making a presentation to the committee.
Speaking about the loan scheme, Committee Chairman Teseer Ugbor said the government must ensure that students at state universities also benefit from the scheme.
“There is a possibility that students from state tertiary institutions will not be able to access the loan because if states do not contribute to the funds, it would mean that students from state universities will not be able to participate in the scheme,” Mr Ugbor said.
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Let hear it in the comment below if you do have an opinion on this; Why we gave ABU N1bn to pay off electricity debt — FG