•Warns Against Discriminatory Focus on “Practical” Courses
The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has urged the Federal Government and Trustees of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to reconsider plans to restrict loan access to students pursuing disciplines deemed “high demand” and “practical” for national development.
CAPPA described the proposed policy shift as discriminatory, reflective of the growing commercialisation of public education, and a betrayal of the Fund’s original mandate to provide equitable access to higher education for all Nigerians.
The warning follows a recent virtual event, ‘Student Loan Masterclass’, hosted by The Renewed Hope Global, where NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyer, announced the impending prioritisation of loans for students in fields like engineering, medicine, and information technology.
These disciplines are considered to offer exportable skills and better repayment prospects.
Conversely, courses such as language studies would no longer be prioritised due to perceived lower contributions to national development and limited job opportunities.
CAPPA’s Concerns on Marginalisation
CAPPA expressed deep concern that such changes would further marginalise students in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, exacerbating systemic inequalities in Nigeria’s education sector.
“This unfair attempt to narrow the policy’s beneficiaries comes at a time when tuition fees for so-called ‘marketable’ courses have skyrocketed in public higher education institutions,” CAPPA said.
It highlighted recent fee increases in institutions such as the University of Lagos and the University of Ibadan, where tuition fees have surged from approximately N19,000 to over N200,000 due to worsening economic conditions.
The organisation further noted the irony of prioritising “economically viable” courses in a country grappling with high unemployment rates and a minimum wage that has failed to stem the mass emigration of Nigerian youths and professionals in search of better opportunities abroad.
“If even graduates from these practical fields struggle to secure jobs within Nigeria, what is the rationale for sidelining other disciplines?” CAPPA queried.
“The state must create an economy that supports diverse intellectual pursuits instead of penalising students for its failures,” it added.
The Risk of Undermining Intellectual Diversity
Zikora Ibeh, CAPPA’s Senior Programme Manager for Research and Policy, criticised the proposed shift, warning that tethering education to perceived economic value undermines the role of diverse academic disciplines in fostering critical thinking and holistic national development.
“By disqualifying and discarding entire fields of knowledge, the state diminishes the importance of intellectual freedom and critical inquiry,” Ibeh stated.
“It risks telling students that their aspirations are invalid unless they conform to market-driven ideals,” he added.
CAPPA likened the proposed policy to the removal of history from Nigeria’s secondary school curriculum in 2009, a decision that deprived students of opportunities to understand their past.
The organisation argued that such narrow focus policies have long-term consequences, including diminished morale among educators and a less attractive teaching profession, particularly in disciplines deemed non-essential.
Chronic Underfunding of Education
CAPPA also highlighted the chronic underfunding of Nigeria’s education sector as a significant contributor to the challenges facing students and educators.
The group criticised the 2025 budget’s allocation of N3.52 trillion for education—just 7.3% of the total budget, far below the globally recommended 15-20%.
“Classrooms are crumbling, educators are overburdened, and students are being short-changed.
“Instead of addressing these persistent issues, officials are doubling down on a discriminatory policy that will deepen inequality and fracture the education sector further,” CAPPA said.
Calls for Inclusive Education Policies
CAPPA called on the Federal Government and NELFUND to abandon plans to transform the student loan scheme into what it termed an ‘anti-intellectual’ policy.
The organisation urged a rethink of the policy to ensure it recognises the value of every academic discipline in advancing collective development.
CAPPA advocated for a higher percentage of the national budget to education to address infrastructural and operational deficits.
It also called for support programs that equip students with practical skills while complementing traditional academic disciplines.
The group further called for the need to improve critical sectors such as electricity and transportation to create a conducive environment for growth.
In calling for the need to ensure that students from all fields have equal opportunities to benefit from education loans, the group urged Nigerian students, academics, civil society organisations, and labour unions to resist the proposed policy shift.
“We must reject this short-sighted and divisive approach. Nigeria needs a bold, inclusive vision for education that values all disciplines equally,” CAPPA stated.
CAPPA stressed that education should be viewed as a tool for national development, not merely an economic commodity.
The group urged the government to foster a system that encourages intellectual freedom and supports the aspirations of all students, regardless of their chosen field of study.
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