President Bola Tinubu on Monday signed the Student Loan Bill into law. The bill is expected to enable Nigerian students to access loans at interest-free rates.
It would be recalled that the piece of legislation passed second reading at the House of Representatives on May 25, 2023.
Below are some information about the bill
i. The Students Loan Bill will provide students with the funding to begin, continue, and complete their postsecondary education.
ii. The Student Loan Bill will also lead to the creation of the Nigerian Education Bank, which will have the authority to oversee, coordinate, administer, and monitor the management of student loans in Nigeria. Also it will also have the authority to receive applications for student loans from applicants through higher education institutions in Nigeria and will screen those applications to make sure that all conditions for the grant of student loans under the Act are met.
iii. The bank shall also have the authority to “approve and disburse the loan to qualified applicants; control and monitor and coordinate the students’ loan account/fund and ensure compliance with respect to disbursement; monitor academic records of grantees of the loan to obtain information on their year of graduation; national service; employment; and to ensure that grantees of the loan commence repayment of the loan as at when due.
iv. Students applying for loan under this Act must apply to the Chairman of the Bank through their respective institutions upon satisfaction of the following conditions:(i) Student must have secured admission into any public NigerianUniversity, Polytechnic, COE or TVET school.
v. Students who have defaulted in previous loans; found guilty of exam malpractices, felony, drug offenses will not be considered. Students with parents who have defaulted in respect of previous loans will not be considered.
vi. Any beneficiary of the loan to which this Act refers shall commence repayment two years after completion of the National Youth Service Corps programme.(Repayment shall be by direct deduction of 10% of the beneficiaries salary at source by the employer.
vii. Where the beneficiary is self employed, he shall remit 10% of his total profit monthly to the Students loan account to be prescribed by the Bank.
