President Bola Tinubu has signed into law, The Student Loan Bill, seeking to provide interest-free loans to indigent Nigerian students.
Here’s what you need to know about the bill which has now become law.
1. Sponsored by ex-speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Students Loan Act seeks to provide easy access to higher education for Nigerians through interest-free loans.
2. All students shall have an equal right to access the loan without any discrimination arising from gender, religion, tribe, position or disability of any kind.
3. The loan shall be granted to students only for the payment of tuition fees and shall be subject to satisfying the requirements and conditions set out for the facility.
4. The Act provides for the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund managed and administered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the deposit money banks.
5. The education fund will administer, supervise, coordinate, and monitor the management of student loans in the country.
6. The education fund will receive applications for student loans through higher institutions on behalf of the applicants and screen them.
7. The education fund shall be chaired by the CBN governor with representatives from the Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission (NUC), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) among others.
8. The education fund shall be financed from education bonds, 1% of all taxes, levies and duties accruing to the federal government from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Immigration Service and Nigerian Customs Service.
9. The education fund shall also get funding from 1% of all profits accruing to the federal government arising from oil and other minerals.
10. Applicants’ income or family income must be less than N500,000 per annum to be eligible for the loan.
11. Repayment shall commence two years after completion of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program and shall be by direct deduction of 10% of the beneficiaries’ monthly salary at source.
12. Defaulters will be liable to two years imprisonment or a fine of N500,000 or both.
