The Student Loan Bill was proposed by the former speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and it was passed by the lawmakers in late May 2023.
In November 2022, Gbajabiamila urged the Education Bank to
provide interest-free loans to students in tertiary institutions in order to
make funding education at that level more accessible to all.
He made the remarks while delivering the 52nd convocation address
at the University of Lagos.
The topic of the presentation was “Building Back Better:
Creating a New Framework for Tertiary Education in Nigeria in the Twenty-First
Century.” In this regard, he stated that he has supported a bill in the
National Assembly named Student Loans (Access to Higher Education Bill).
As a lawmaker and politician, he remarked that one of the
most common requests he always heard was money for tertiary education, as the
future of talented kids could be jeopardised.
“The bill proposes to provide students with interest-free
loans.”
Following the passage by the House and assent by President
Tinubu, here are seven things to know about the Student Loan Act:
1. The new act will establish the Nigerian Education Bank,
which will supervise, coordinate, administer and monitor the management of
student loans in Nigeria.
2. Applicants will go through screening to determine whether
they meet the requirements for the loan.
3. Students in all the higher institutions are eligible for
the loan.
4. It provides funds for all education-related matters,
including textbooks, and research.
5. It is only accessible to students studying in Nigeria.
6. There will be jail terms for student loan defaulters.
7. The repayment of the loan will begin two years after the
National Youth Service Corps Scheme is completed.
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Where dem go get the employment to repay the loan as we dey now?
ReplyDeleteGood question
DeleteStill only the rich will have access to it,
ReplyDeleteNo be Naija we dey.
Why should repayments be made after Youth Service ? This is absurd, the law would have stipulated, WHEN THEY START EARNING SALARIES, and a small percentage should be removed from their monthly salaries as direct debit by the Account department or Ministry of finance. However, the government would have put in place mechanism in place where middle scale loans be given to those who wants to venture into business and this must accompany strict disbursement. Any government that can do this, will certainly decelerates unemployment.
ReplyDelete