The student loan scheme of the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government is set to kick off on Friday, 24 May, with 1.2 million students in FG-owned tertiary institutions across Nigeria targeted as first-phase beneficiaries.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this at a pre-application sensitisation press conference in Abuja, on Monday.
Sawyerr noted that the 1.2 million students who will benefit from the first phase of the scheme will be drawn from federal government-owned universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, colleges of education, and technical colleges.
Arbiterz reports that the Student Loan Act (Access to Higher Education Bill 2016), which was first introduced by former Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, in the Eighth National Assembly, and reintroduced and passed for first reading by the House in July 2019, received President Tinubu’s assent on 12 June 2023.
Tinubu signed the Bill into law under the title, “Access to Higher Education Act, 2023.”
Initial setbacks and amendment
The 2023 Act, however, suffered some initial setbacks following criticisms of some clauses, including a family income threshold of N500,000 annually set as part of the eligibility requirements for accessing the loan.
Another condition that came under heavy criticism was the provision of at least two guarantors, with each of the guarantors being a civil servant of at least level 12 in the service, a lawyer with at least 10 years of post-call experience, or a judicial officer or Justice of Peace.
The Bill was subsequently sent back to the National Assembly for further consideration and amendment.
Justifying the amendment in a statement, the spokesperson for the President, Ajuri Ngelale, said the “Act effectively removes the previous encumbrances found in the first iteration of the Act, by ensuring that citizens have the means to fund their education, acquire critical skills, and become productive contributors to national development.”
Ngelale further stated that the repealed Act had some issues including “governance and management, purpose of the loans, eligibility criteria for applicants, method of application, repayment provisions, and recovery of the loans,” noting that the amended version “removes the family income threshold so Nigerian students can apply for these loans and accept responsibility for repayment according to the Fund’s guidelines,” as well as the guarantor requirement to allow students to apply for the loans subject to application and identity verification guidelines as provided by the Fund.
On 3 April 2024, President Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law.
Read more: ASUU and University Funding: Is Student Loans the Answer ?
Sawyerr on loan application
Speaking on Monday, Sawyerr noted, “There are approximately 1.2 million students in federal tertiary institutions owned by the government. Today, by inference, 1.2 million students maximum at the federal level (will benefit), but there might be an opportunity to increase the capacity in terms of more institutions, and when we begin to bring in state-owned institutions, then the numbers can go up.”
He urged students in FG-owned tertiary institutions to visit the Fund’s website at www.nelf.gov.ng to apply, adding that only students whose institutions have uploaded their data on the Fund’s dashboard will be eligible to apply.
Listing the requirements for application, the NELFUND boss said applicants must provide their admission letter from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, National Identity Number, and Bank Verification Number as well as completed application forms from its website.
He said, “The loan application process has been streamlined to ensure easy access for all eligible students in federal tertiary institutions. Applicants can access online support to assist with any questions or concerns during the application process.
“We believe that education is a vital investment for the future. We envisage that the student loan initiative of Mr President is a testament to this commitment.”
