By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja and Yagana Ali, Yola

House of Representatives Speaker, Rep Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday came hard on the Senate for not concurring to a bill on students loan he sent to the upper legislative chamber since 2019, but expressed hope that it would be signed into law before the end of this administration.

Gbajabiamila, who lamented over what he described as the failed tertiary education system in the country, said he was shopping for ideas and policies to revive the sector.

In an address at the national summit on tertiary education reform 2022, organized by the House of Representatives in Abuja, Gbajabiamila also canvassed equal opportunities for all Nigerians to compete favourably in the country, by operating a tertiary education system that would help everyone to rise in life.

The Speaker, who said he was exploring ways to enable Nigerian students raise funds to finance their studies in the higher institutions,

“More than at any other time in our history, we are called to speak truthfully to one another about the challenges we face and the hard choices necessary to overcome. Allow me this morning to speak the truth as I see it so that together we can agree on what we need to do to overcome. 

“Time was when the tertiary institutions in our country were centres of excellence, comparable to the best institutions elsewhere in the world.  There was a time when our brothers and sisters from across Africa and even farther away sought out our institutions, and we welcomed them in droves.  That time is no more.

“It used to be that a student admitted to the university knew the date of their graduation and graduated on that day.  And it once was that a career in academia guaranteed stable employment and an honourable quality of life.  For the most part, all of these now exist as memories of a distant past.  But it really wasn’t so long ago. 

“I do not speak of these things to mourn the past or dwell in the memory of what was.  I speak from a place of hope that by reminding ourselves of what was, we might be inspired to embrace the possibility of all that could be if we make the right choices now.

“For eight months this year, students of federal tertiary institutions sat at home due to a litany of unresolved issues between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government of Nigeria.  These university strikes are almost perennial and preceded this government.  The recent one was not the first and may not be the last unless we determine to make it so. 

“The end of the strike was a relief to all; it meant the resumption of academic activities and a return to routine for students.  However, the end of the strike did not mean all the issues of funding, education standard, and student and staff welfare had been resolved.  At the time, I called for the government, universities, unions, and citizens to see the moment as an opportunity to begin the critical conversation about the future of public tertiary education in the country.

“This National Summit on Tertiary Education Reform (NSTER) is the manifestation of our commitment in the 9th House of Representatives to engender a national conversation to consider bold ideas and radical innovations to restructure and reform public tertiary education in Nigeria.  

“How do we ensure that every child born in Nigeria in this generation and hereafter can compete favourably in an ever-changing world?  This is the defining issue of our age.  And the answer is simple, we do it by providing a quality education that empowers the mind to ask hard questions and accept complicated solutions.  We do it by training our people to revel in the inquiry, embrace complexity and not be afraid of knotty problems,” the Speaker stated.

He reminded that education was the silver bullet that eliminates poverty and lack; stressing that it also presents hope and confidence and reduces violence and strife. 

“Education offers us the promise that by the application of our minds and the works of our hands, we can make this world better and improve the life of man on this earth.  Education is the gift that keeps on giving through generations. 

“A university degree, or tertiary qualification of some other kind, can be the catalyst that changes the trajectory of an entire family. Evidence abounds of the transformations that can happen when ambition and diligence are amplified by access to quality education and training.

“By all means, in a perfect world, access to education will be a fundamental benefit afforded to every individual from basic through tertiary.  And our learning centres will be majestic citadels of research and innovation, open to all who seek knowledge, regardless of means.  But this is not a perfect world.  In this real world, education is a commodity and a quality education even more so.

“Therefore, the central public policy challenge is the conflict between the competing objectives of access and quality.  How do we fund a quality tertiary education without imposing costs that make access to quality education impossible for most people?

I don’t have the answer to that question.  I have my own ideas, and I have, as a legislator, sought to advance those ideas through the legislative policy process. 

“In 2019, I sponsored, and the House of Representatives passed the Students Loan (Access to Higher Education) Bill to provide access to education financing for students who qualify.  That Bill is in the Senate, awaiting concurrence.  We hope it will get to the President before the expiration of this administration.  But a framework of student loans is only one idea.  I believe there are many more,” Gbajabiamila stated.

He said the summit aimed to provide an opportunity for all Nigerians and friends of Nigeria to present those ideas for consideration, examination, debate and, eventually, action.