Loans For College and University Students in Nigeria?

It seems to me like the tuition is very high in Nigeria, and most people can't further their educations. My suggestion is that the government should start providing loans to people that are keen to further their education and are not financially secured, so Nigerians can have good education which would personally boost up their self esteem as well.

This way, the Government would put more jobs so that the borrowers can work and also pay off their debts. In a way, the individual is benefiting as well as the government. This could keep some young adults off the street. I want to know other people's opinion about this.

That's a very good Idea. I think the issue of Scholarships should also be brought up.

But the thing is, if the gov decides to help people with money, the people won't pay back. Their's no social security number to track em down. Plus some people will just keep applying. Nigerians abuse opportunities.

The thing is, even here in North America, with the social security number and stuff, the Government still can't track some people.

Let them start school fully, pay for their tuition and school necessities and just give them some spending cash. Even if their minds are not set to get educated, they still gain something at the end of the day.

They may not appreciate it, but remember it’s better late than never.

It seems to me like the tuition is very high in Nigeria, and most people can't further their educations. My suggestion is that the government should start providing loans to people that are keen to further their education and are not financially secured, so Nigerians can have good education which would personally boost up their self esteem as well.

This way, the Government would put more jobs so that the borrowers can work and also pay off their debts. In a way, the individual is benefiting as well as the government. This could keep some young adults off the street. I want to know other people's opinion about this.

Lauryn did you ever live in nigeria at all? Which tuition fees do we pay in nigeria? with the exception of state schools (which are just pure money minting institutions) federal schools do not charge tuition fees in nigeria. the fees we pay are just extraneous fees added by the school authorities! i remember as at 2003 i paid #2300 as school fees for my final yr, up from #450 i paid as a first yr undergraduate in 1999!
it is absolutely impossible to assume that becos a system works in the us it will automatically work in nigeria. the solution to improving our school system would be for govt to devote more funding, let private investors invest in research in our institutions, and introduce tuition fees so that those who have a real interest in education will go to school and not just every tom dick and harry! the reason students can't afford school fees is because of the general level of poverty in the country,most of those students can't even afford 1 meal a day, nd not becos of high tuition fees. besides a loan system is not the best for nigeria at the moment considering the present disorganised state of our financial system and wholesale corruption.

2. having almost every nigerian go to school will not increase jobs but increase unemployment. where are the jobs for the priviledged few that still afford to go to school?

You have only suggested remedies that work in other "highly organised societies", without considering the complexities of our own society where such policies are simply unworkable.

men 4get it naija is what it is
and wud remain what it wants to be
though there are things that would be
done to improve the condition of this conutry
but man 4get it.

Its kind of sad the way people shoot down ideas and assume it won't work in Nigeria because its not organised blah blah blah.. and then they wonder why things remain the same in the country.

hot-angel:

But the thing is, if the gov decides to help people with money, the people won't pay back. Their's no social security number to track em down. Plus some people will just keep applying. Nigerians abuse opportunities.

This is a big assumption, some people will obviously abuse the system but many will not and they will benefit from it. Is it fair to deprive the needy ones just because a minority will abuse the system.

davidylan:

having almost every nigerian go to school will not increase jobs but increase unemployment. where are the jobs for the priviledged few that still afford to go to school?

thats an interesting theory, so are you suggesting that only a few Nigerians should go to school to reduce unemployment.
Don't you think it'll be better for everyone to go to school but overhaul the educational system and make it more adaptable to our needs so we can have educated bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers, mechanics etc.

Tuition fees are being re-introduced in Nigerian Universities as a way of making them automous, the new intakes into UniPort are paying nothing less than fifty thousand naira under such headings as acceptance fees, school fees, medicals, laboratory, hostel, ICTC etc, Giving scholarships or loans will be a good way of helping those who are inteligent but have no resources to further their education.

ijebuman, wonderful to read your post. diversity even in ideas make the world go round. however, the fact is some pple do not shoot down ideas, they only debate and RATIONALISE them with regard to the situations around them.
Nigerians are nothing more than incurable optimists who sit down and "hope" things will get better by explaining away valid arguments in the name of patriotism.

Back to your debate:

1. you know as well as i do that our financial system is no way as advanced as the foriegn countries. the loans we are refering to in this case are sourced from banks my brother and not government expenditure (that is how the system works in other countries). Do we have a mortgage system in place? No! unfortunately that is the system that sustains america's loans and credit facilities.
With the number of banks that fail every day in nigeria, it is hard to see any 10 banks that will be viable enough to give out educational loans to needy students.
in the US, the loans are given out on the premise that such students will find jobs in the US and be able to pay back such loans monthly thru special interbank arrangements (the borrower deducts the monthly repayment directly from source. that is why if u are aware that US lenders do not give international students loans because they do not have any guarantee that u will stay bakc in the US to work and repay the loan! Do we have such systems in place? No!
The American society are excellent record keepers as u may know, it is noteworthy to say that the social security system (and ur date of birth) can being used to trace you anywhere in the US. When less than 40% of children born in nigeria are accounted for and possess birth certificates, is it those who have borrowed loans that we will be able to trace?

You claim only a minority will abuse the process! you urself know it is not true. let us be realistic, only a few will ever repay those loans if any at all. if this is untrue then ask why nigerian banks are very stringent with loan conditions (astronomical interest rates) and hardly give loans except to established corporate individuals? will the students involved get jobs or not? will they be trusted to remain in nigeria where they can be monitored?
Assume that only 20% of 200000 students on loans (#100000 for 5yrs) default in paying their loans, that adds up to a loss of #4bn to bad debts every 5 yrs (assuming only 200,000 students obtain loans every 5yrs). Do you think our economy is strong enough to absorb such a huge loss? ask the banks!

2. regarding unemployment or not, i am not propounding any new theory! face facts pls, who are the educated plumbers and carpenters you ar refering to? will u take up carpentry after five yrs in the university? minus the medical, oil and banking sectors (the banking sector is laying of thousands of workers already), which other sectors are viable enough to absorb more than 100000 (mostly unemployable) graduates every yr.

pls try and elucidate facts properly bfore making comments that are based only on sentiments. many of us love nigeria too! we don't just like the way it is being run aground!

Not everyone goes to college in the US! ask the musicians, sportsmen and women, Bill Gates and co and they are making it! the difference is in the dynamics of the economy! u don't have to go to college to make it in life!

lauryn:

The thing is, even here in North America, with the social security number and stuff, the Government still can't track some people.

Let them start school fully, pay for their tuition and school necessities and just give them some spending cash. Even if their minds are not set to get educated, they still gain something at the end of the day.

They may not appreciate it, but remember it’s better late than never.

I have a feeling you have not lived in nigeria. We do not keep records . in foreign countries you can be tracked down,( you can't get work anywhere without your SSN and so youl have to pay back) but many people in nigeria dont even have birth certificates or any records on the computers.

For example take the case of giving drivers tickets. In western lands they give u a ticket and let u go b/because they know paying up is inevitable but try that in Nigeria, i assure u all the molue drivers will tear up the ticket and wont pay a cent.

Lets stop beign sentimental on issues and look at it the way it is.

Sage
Did u ever live abroad

Sage
Did u ever live in abroad[quote][/quote]

pls lets focus on the issue. it's not on who has lived abroad or in nigeria but the situation of things on ground and why we cannot implement some suggested solutions.

[quote][/quote]Sage
Did u ever live in abroad

[/quote]Did u ever live in abroad[quote]

pls is "abroad" a house or school or something we can live in? lol
no offense!

i asked that cos it might be what he heard
Even peeps with Social Securtiy Number cannot be traced, they just mess up ur credit if u dont pay ur debt, u could hav a certain address on file and not be livin there and what makes u think u cant work without a SSN, the only prob with workin without a SSN is u cant file for taxes @ the end of the year
and them not havn identificatn on file is their choice, cos b4 they loan money to anyone, they should find out series of info about the client.

Lauryn, your idea is a good one. I thought I dropped a comment that this is not necessarily something for the government to do. This is something that the private sector can begin to do. For example, you could sponsor a bright student and have him work for you for a few years after graduation and do his internship at your place, too.

seun, your comment seems to me the most realistic i've read so far on this issue.
since the govt can not go it alone, the private individuals could step in, give scholarships to indigent but bright students. offer them good job opportunities and opportunities for internships or on-the-job training and believe you me the education sector will improve because students would be galvanised to work harder.

in the US, there are opportunities for students who either cannot afford grad school or are undecided to do some training in any laboratory in schools of their choice. this is not contingent on the student eventually deciding to stay on and pursue a graduate career. this way the student earns money (they are paid employments) and can experiment for a while before deciding on a career path.

wow!
U don't hav to get that pissed, it's just a topic to discuss. jeez, no need to bite my head off ok
anywayz, u never know, things could work out fine
don't worry, i'm a very good driver, and i don't plan on gettn a ticket any time soon. I appreciate ur concern though, Thanks Babe 

u need to focus on the main issue and stop observin spellin mistakes

davidylan:

Sage
Did u ever live in abroad

I think this will be most welcomed, considering the inadequate employment level in the Nigerian economy.
Every right thinking person will definitely appreciate this gesture if it is implemented.
Thanks.
Freeik.

davidylan:

<snip>
You claim only a minority will abuse the process! you yourself know it is not true. let us be realistic, only a few will ever repay those loans if any at all. if this is untrue then ask why nigerian banks are very stringent with loan conditions (astronomical interest rates) and hardly give loans except to established corporate individuals? will the students involved get jobs or not? will they be trusted to remain in nigeria where they can be monitored?
Assume that only 20% of 200000 students on loans (#100000 for 5yrs) default in paying their loans, that adds up to a loss of #4bn to bad debts every 5 years (assuming only 200,000 students obtain loans every 5yrs). Do you think our economy is strong enough to absorb such a huge loss? ask the banks!

No one expects the private sector to be involved, not at this stage anyway.

It all boils down to how the government sets it up, they could set it up in a 'reverse' way to the current NYSC scheme, kind of like a 'serve your country first before you get a loan', where you join the scheme, work in a certain part of the country for 2 to 3 years and then qualify for a scholarship/loan to study. I think the US army does something along similar lines.

The money would be distributed through the colleges or as vouchers so no actual money exchanges hands. At the end of study they can continue to work within the scheme until they finish paying off the loan.

davidylan:

2. regarding unemployment or not, i am not propounding any new theory! face facts please, who are the educated plumbers and carpenters you ar refering to? will u take up carpentry after five years in the university? minus the medical, oil and banking sectors (the banking sector is laying of thousands of workers already), which other sectors are viable enough to absorb more than 100000 (mostly unemployable) graduates every yr.

you obviously did not understand my post, i said overhaul the educational system to produce educated bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers, mechanics etc, rather than producing graduates in religious studies and other courses that have no relevance to our economy. Do a search in google, you'll be surprised at the number of universities around the world that offer courses in these professions, but you would not find them in our universities.

My brother works as an Architect and his major problem is getting reliable and knowledgeable bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers etc who can read and understand building plans.

davidylan:

Not everyone goes to college in the US! ask the musicians, sportsmen and women, Bill Gates and co and they are making it! the difference is in the dynamics of the economy! u don't have to go to college to make it in life!

true, however at this point in our development we need educated citizens, its all about getting them into the right areas of our economy like the police for example, currently its mostly drop outs and educational dunces that end up in the police force. If you've had the misfortune of having to report a crime to the Nigerian police, you'll understand. These guys have no clue about the law and i'm not even talking about their penchant for 'egunje'.

davidylan:

<snip>diversity even in ideas make the world go round. however, the fact is some people do not shoot down ideas, they only debate and RATIONALISE them with regard to the situations around them.
Nigerians are nothing more than incurable optimists who sit down and "hope" things will get better by explaining away valid arguments in the name of patriotism.

My point has always been that there's nothing unusual about our situation, if a system or proposal is put in place with proper checks and balances it will work even in a chaotic place like Nigeria. Lagos state is currently using a computerised method of collecting tax revenue which people said will not work but has helped increase its monthly generated revenue from N600 million to N3.5billion https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-2043.0.html

Remember the words of Thomas Edison "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward.... "

My point has always been that there's nothing unusual about our situation,

just to remind you that there is everything UNUSUAL about a 45 yr old man still crawling or in his diapers!
What is normal about our situation? This mindset is why we are so relaxed about the fact that 45 yrs after independence we are still deluding ourselves that we are the giant of africa when we know that we are among the 6 poorest nations on earth. Our leaders will even say that afterall nigeria is only 45 compared to USA that is over 200. Is Ghana or SA over 60yrs old

No one expects the private sector to be involved, not at this stage anyway.

It all boils down to how the government sets it up, they could set it up in a 'reverse' way to the current NYSC scheme, kind of like a 'serve your country first before you get a loan', where you join the scheme, work in a certain part of the country for 2 to 3 years and then qualify for a scholarship/loan to study. I think the US army does something along similar lines.

The money would be distributed through the colleges or as vouchers so no actual money exchanges hands. At the end of study they can continue to work within the scheme until they finish paying off the loan.

Are you comparing the US army to the whole nation of nigeria? The fact that the scheme works for the US army does not make it applicable to us here if not the whole of the US should have adopted the same strategy but they don't cos it will not work. The US military alone is a job that pple are trained for and not a voluntary organisation you join for the sole purpose of gaining a scholarship to school. the scheme is like a way to compensate the soldiers by ensuring every military officer, veteran or their children are given special government scholarships to go to school IF THEY SO DESIRE!

Besides for how long will we always depend on govt to dole out money for every single thing? We seem to be decieved by the billions of dollars that govt announces for sale of crude oil to assume we are a rich nation, we are not! most of the money goes back to paying for the importation of the oil and gas we use, service our debts, (corruption), and other developmental projects. it is difficult to see how govt can sustain such a scheme considering the number of students involved. you and i know how difficult it has been for govt to sustain the ordinary #7500 minimum wage they pay NYSC fellas for a yr. if not why do you think they set the minimum age for NYSC at 30 and later 26?

The goal of a capitalist economy that we purport to run is the full involvement of the private sector and little in put from govt.
Economies in the US and europe are strong today because they are driven by their industries and not govt money.
In the US that u cite, most of the money for scholarships and stuff come from industries, banks and private individuals. this frees govt funds for other things such as "the war in IRAQ"!

Things are too hard even to our parent i think the federal gov should create a ministry which wil pay student all over nigeria. Pls i want us to pass it as a bill to national assembly i think is a welcome idea, let the youth stand up for their rights & say no to those old men parading their selves as youth, eating what is suppose to ours pls member of this thread who more previlegd please join the fight. Love u all, Kingclemzy@yahoo.com.