Newsonline Nigeria earlier reported that on June 12th, President Bola Tinubu officially enacted the Access To Higher Education Bill, commonly referred to as the Student Loan Bill.
The sponsorship of this bill came from Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chief of Staff to the President-designate. It had successfully passed through the Legislative in May 2023.
This Nigeria News platform understands that the primary objective of this legislation, as indicated in its title, is to facilitate convenient access to higher education for Nigerians.
Federal Government announced on Wednesday that it is putting the finishing touches on the procedures for the disbursement of student loans, which is anticipated to start between September and October 2023.
David Adejo, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, revealed this to reporters in Abuja while discussing the new Student Loan Act.
According to Adejo, the bill will ensure that every Nigerian has access to higher education through the Higher Education Nigerian Bank.
“We are not going to use existing banks. We are going to create a new bank that will address this. Learning from past mistakes, the bank is not going to be the type to sit down and collect application loans. It will also perform normal banking functions and make sure loans are given because we have had cases of loan recovery in the past,” he said.
Speaking further, Adejo said: “The act as it is tells us the process, but as I speak with you today, the President has approved a committee made up of the ministries and agencies, and their meeting will be coming up on June 20.
“The President has also directed that by September to October of this 2023–2024 academic session, he wants to see recipients of these loans. It is a very serious march for us, so between now and then we have to fathom the process for people to get the loan.”…..Continue Reading
All applicants must apply to the Chairman of the Bank and through the Student Affairs Office of their various institutions – University, College of Education, Polytechnic or Vocational School – established by the Federal Government or any State Government.
Applicant income or family income shall be less than N500,000 per annum
Each applicant must provide two guarantors who must be a civil servant with at least 12 years experience, or a lawyer with at least 10 years post-call experience, or a Judicial Officer, or a Justice of Peace.
A student can be disqualified if they or their parents have defaulted of any loan in the past, or they (student) have been convicted of drug related offences or any felony involving dishonesty or fraud, or they if the student has been found guilty of exam malpractices by any school authority…..Continue Reading Here
President Bola Tinubu signed the Student Loan Bill into law on Monday, 12 June, his aide, Dele Alake, disclosed this to State House Correspondents on Monday, June 12, 2023.
NewsOnline Nigeria gathered that this is part of Tinubu’s manifesto, where he promised to devise new ways universities can source for school fees.
He intends to end the reoccurring strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by reforming the education system in Nigeria, as the association often protest poor funding.
I will initiate a new creative means of funding tertiary education by granting universities the financial autonomy to explore new sources of financing through grants, corporate sponsorship, tuition fees etc.
“My administration will collaborate with all the tertiary education sector stakeholders, including students, parents, the academic community, relevant unions, and the government…..Continue Reading
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