Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo has emphasized the necessity of including students from private universities as beneficiaries of the Student Loan scheme initiated by the Federal Government.
He made these remarks during the inauguration ceremony of the Asiwaju Onafowokan Coleman Wires and Cables building at Bells University’s College of Postgraduate Studies in Ota, Ogun State.
Obasanjo urged the Federal Government to extend the loan scheme to students in private universities, highlighting the importance of equal opportunities for all students.
He said, “The Vice-Chancellor has spoken about the need to include students in private universities as beneficiaries of the Student Loan Scheme. I urge the government to listen to that and take heed to include them too. I doubt if the scheme will be run without corruption, that is another matter entirely.”
Obasanjo, the proprietor of Bell University of Technology, opined that the loan scheme was crucial to the development of the society and the welfare of the citizens and that excluding a group of people would be counterproductive.
Previously, Prof. Jeremiah Ojediran, the Vice Chancellor of Bell University of Technology, had advocated for the incorporation of students from private universities into the scheme.
“That is how they excluded students in private universities from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the recent decision to exclude them from the student’s loan scheme is unfair. These decisions were out of touch with the current realities of the society and the expectations of the people.
“Many parents struggle to keep their children enrolled in schools, whether public or private, due to the economic downturn in the country,” he said.
