UNIVERSITY lecturers, and other tertiary institution workers are increasingly embracing the Federal Government’s Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF), a zero-interest loan scheme they initially rejected, with many attributing the shift to worsening economic hardship, rather than support for government policy.

When the TISSF was introduced, major university unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), described it as a “debt trap,” insisting that lecturers needed better salaries and the payment of withheld wages instead of loans.

However, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, recently disclosed that more than 33,000 academic and non-academic staff applied for the facility, with over ₦13 billion disbursed to 7,450 beneficiaries nationwide as of June 2026.

In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Adelaja Odukoya, a Professor of Comparative Political Economy and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), said the increasing acceptance of the scheme reflects the worsening economic conditions facing university workers, rather than confidence in government policy.

He described the loan as a product of the “weaponisation of poverty,” arguing that the government is replacing decent wages and adequate funding of public universities with debt-based interventions.

According to Odukoya, the focus should not be on why lecturers changed their minds, but on the economic realities that forced many to embrace a scheme they had previously opposed. He urged observers to look beyond surface-level decisions.

“Nothing more than the loan scheme and the turnaround from the initial rejection depicts the economic and psychological suffocation Nigerian university workers are exposed to.

“Rather than asking why lecturers changed their minds, the proper question to ask is: what political economy conditions compelled Nigerian university workers to ‘go back to their vomit,” Odukoya said, adding that loans cannot solve the structural problems responsible for declining living standards.

He maintained that ASUU’s opposition was based on the belief that welfare programmes should not substitute government’s constitutional responsibility to adequately fund public universities and ensure competitive remuneration.

A lecturer, who spoke anonymously, also attributed the growing demand for the loan to the financial challenges confronting university staff.

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Meanwhile, the national president of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), Dr Niyi Sunmonu, reiterated the union’s call for a living wage and improved welfare for university workers, but maintained that CONUA members never rejected the TISSF scheme.

Sunmonu, expressed concern over the slow pace of disbursement, noting that only about 22.6 percent of applicants had received the interest-free loans. He urged the Federal Government to accelerate the release of funds to qualified beneficiaries.