By Mohammed Nasir Shuaibu (Bauchi State Correspondent)
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Bauchi Zone has called on its members to desist from the so-called Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF).
The ASUU Bauchi Zone comprises of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Sa'adu Zungur University, Bauchi, University of Jos, Platuea State University, Platuea, Federal University of Kashere and Gombe State University respectively.
The call was made by the Zonal Coordinator, Bauchi Zone, Namo Timothy Aku, during a press conference with journalists. He said the loan is nothing but a debt trap aimed at enslaving them and their children and destroying the cooperative societies that are the lifewire of the workforce in universities.
He said ASUU acknowledged that the federal government had launched a program tagged "Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF)," which claims to provide funds to support university staff in building houses, healthcare, clothing, food, payment of school fees, and self-empowerment training.
However, ASUU described the program as a debt trap, stating that the government's requirement for ASUU to guarantee members' access to the loan is unacceptable. The union also questioned the terms and conditions of the loan, which are not explicitly defined.
ASUU further explained that a cursory analysis of the maximum accessible amount for its members shows that a professor would need to earn a minimum of thirty million naira (N30,000,000.00) annually to qualify for the ten million naira (N10,000,000.00) loan.
The union noted that a professor in a public university in Nigeria presently earns an annual salary (before tax) of N9,476,689.00, which entitles them to a maximum of N3,155,737.44.
In view of this, ASUU has called on its members to stay away from the debt trap, which is aimed at enslaving them and their children and destroying the cooperative societies that have been the lifewire of the workforce in universities.
The union further explained that taking this loan would have obvious implications, including leaving members with little or no take-home pay after deductions for loan repayment, check-off dues, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), National Housing Scheme (NHF), Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), and cooperative contributions.
ASUU also questioned the legitimacy of the loan scheme, citing that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Act does not provide for a loan scheme of this nature. NNL.
