Despite assurances by the Presidency that Students Loan Scheme would kick off in January, it has failed to do so. Some of the factors responsible for the failure include non-inclusion of representatives of students on the Students’ Loan Board, logistics challenges arising from domiciling the Loans Board at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) instead of Federal Ministry of Education, and the decision by the Presidency to include persons outside the formal school setting.

It was further observed that the website, where students were expected to apply for the facility was yet to be launched. Signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on June 12, 2023, the Access to Tertiary Education Act, also known as the Students Loan Act, is expected to provide access to higher education for poor students through interest-free loans.

According to the proponents, it will enable indigent students to access Federal Government loans to fund their tertiary education as done in developed countries.

Sponsored by the Speaker of the Ninth House of Representatives and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Student Loan Act repealed the Nigerian Education Bank Act Cap. N104, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and seeks to create a legal framework for the grant of loans to indigent or low-income Nigerians in order to facilitate the payment of their tuition fees.

Although the Federal Government had, through the immediate past Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejo, disclosed that it was working out modalities to kick-start the process in September/October 2023. This, however, failed to happen as President Bola Tinubu set a new date of January 2024.

Speaking at the 29th National Economic Summit in October last year, President Tinubu said the loan programme “must commence” in January 2024, adding that there would be no more industrial actions in the tertiary institutions.

Other top government officials, who have reiterated the January take-off at public engagements, include the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman; Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, among others.

In a chat with The Guardian, the National President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Lucky Emonefe described the delay as worrisome.

He urged the Dr Akintunde Sawyer-led Students’ Loans Board to get serious and put its house in order.

Emonefe expressed dismay that a meeting called by the board last week to iron out grey areas was called off at the 11th hour. He said: “It was supposed to commence in January but nothing was done. It was as a result of the inclusion of skill acquisition. There is an expansion of the Students’ Loans Scheme to include skills.”

“They want to develop website. We are the proper channel to sensitise our students to that. The website is not available as we speak. I don’t know why they are sleeping. While we commend the President for the expansion, but there are some steps the Students’ Loan Board needs to take that we will know that this is seriousness on their part. They have not even come to engage us. That’s the first step to show seriousness.” NANS also lamented the exclusion of the students body from the board, likening it to shaving a man’s head in his absence. (The Guardian)

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