HOW to provide alternative funding opportunities for Nigerian undergraduates formed the basis of the discourse, at the first international student finance conference, held recently in Lagos.Participants challenged the government to channel the bulk of the nation's stolen wealth into educating its citizenry.Themed: 'Expanding Access to Finance for all Students in Tertiary Education', the conference packaged by Enterprise Trust & Development Company (ETDC) in partnership with Sam Ohuabunwa Foundation for Economic Empowerment (SOFEE).Participants deliberated on the need to provide multiple funding options for prospective Nigerian undergraduates by providing students' loans, bursaries, scholarships and grants.In his opening remark, the National President, Nigeria American Chamber of Commerce and Founder of SOFEE, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, expressed the need for government and financial institutions to revolutionise education by widening financial access for students in tertiary institution, else the insurgency in the society would persist.Until there is large number of educated Nigerians who are well cultured and skilled to run various sectors of the economy, he stressed, achieving knowledge production, dissemination and application may be difficult.It was in a bid to avert the seeming trend, he noted, that the conference came up to seek alternative means of accessing funding for Nigerian youths. He also urged banks and financial institution to create opportunity for less privileged young Nigerians to sponsor themselves into higher institutions since government programmes and policies did not offer such.The Managing Director of ETDC, Mr. Nathaniel Abara, remarked that efforts must geared towards developing financial option for aspiring students, so as to acquire the knowledge needed in solving societal problems.'There are people in government today who have the desire to produce results but lack the technical know-how, this in turn affects the quality of decisions and actions they take. This is more pronounced at the local government level, so expanding access to finance for all students is a necessity.''We have many of this programme running in developed countries, especially now that the world is moving towards knowledge economy, and all these countries, America, China, Russia, Canada have introduced this financing system for their citizens. Government and institutions give out loans, grants and create alternative funding; when there is assured funding quality, output will improve. Banks and financial institutions have various products, but there is no product called students loan. And so there is need to finance people to acquire higher education and prepare our youths for the future because that is where the issue lies,' he declared.Presenting a paper titled: 'Driving Sustainable High Level Human Capital Development Agenda in all State through Student Finance: Rivers State Experience', the Permanent Secretary of Rivers State Ministry of Education, Mr. Richard Ofuru, stressed that Governor Rotimi Amaechi on assumption of office met a lot of criminalities and youth restiveness in the state but through transformation of the state education system arrested the menace.He hinted that through various scholarship schemes, overseas training and other make-up educational programmes coupled with free education to senior secondary, Amaechi was able to confront the situation.He, therefore, stated, 'any country with large natural resources and endowment without the right human capital is heading towards its waterloo.'However, Human Right Activist, Femi Falana, who commended Rivers State Government for their laudable achievement in the education sector, accused Nigerian leaders of their insensitivity towards the masses, adding that the Rivers State example had shown that it could be done to have good public schools in Nigeria.The issue of insecurity he pointed out wouldn't have deteriorated if the larger society were well educated. 'There are enough funds to train everybody in this country, if we manage our resources prudently. In our times, we have access to loans, bursaries and scholarships, all these leaders benefitted from it and today what are they doing for Nigerian child' Why are they giving excuses now,' he queried.He maintained that it was the duty of government to squarely fund education as according to him, 'government was responsible during our time, this level of corruption was not there, government of those days planned adequately, but today there is no national plan, everybody is recklessly making money. Every Nigerian child is entitled to free and compulsory education from nursery to junior secondary, so government should invest the bulk of all our stolen treasuries in education.'He faulted religious institutions and some state government on the practice of spending money on what he described as frivolities, stressing that all religious bodies especially those that have universities should assist children of the poor to acquire knowledge.'Have you seen where a state government will spend N7 billion to send 2000 people to Mecca in one year, with N7 billion you can eradicate illiteracy in a state. There is nowhere in the Koran or Bible where it is stated that people must go to Mecca or Jerusalem, it does not make you more religious, that money should be used in funding education,' he argued.Other participants who spoke at the event argued that the older generations enjoyed scholarship, bursaries and other grants and now they are not able to give opportunity to present generation. They urged government to desist from ill policies and concentrate on programmes that would impact on the poor masses.They also requested that all recovered funds from the nation's corrupt officers should be channeled towards assisting indigent but brilliant undergraduates. The Vice Chancellor of Pan-African University, Prof. Juan Elegido, presented a paper on 'Challenges in Financing Tertiary Education in Nigeria.
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