President Bola Tinubu recently signed into law the amended Students Loan ‘Access to Higher Education’ (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, marking a significant stride towards fostering education accessibility in Nigeria. The revisions, following consideration by both chambers of the National Assembly, aim to address the shortcomings of the previous legislation.

According to the Federal Government, the repealed Student Loan Act, 2023, had some challenges bordering on governance, management, purpose of the loans, eligibility criteria for applicants, method of application, repayment provisions, and recovery of the loans.

Eligibility Criteria for Application

The Students Loans Act 2024 expands the eligibility of those who can apply for this loan to all Nigerian students admitted into both federal and state government tertiary education institutions and vocational or skills acquisition institutions licensed by the federal government.

The new act eliminates the requirement for the applicant or their family to have an annual income of less than N500,000. Under the new act, applicant’s family income is no longer taken into consideration. The earlier guarantor prerequisites of a civil servant of at least level 12, a lawyer with at least 10 years post-call experience, or a judicial officer, or a justice of peace have been replaced with a more comprehensive application and identity verification processes

Management and Administration of the fund

The amended act removes the administration of the Fund from the Central Bank of Nigeria. It establishes the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as a corporate entity, which is responsible for the administration of student loans. It replaces the Executive Secretary of the Fund with a Managing Director, to be appointed by the President and supported by three Executive Directors with 5-year tenures.

The Act retains 1 per cent of all taxes, levies and duties collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) as a source of funding for NELFUND and removes the 1% of taxes, levies and dues accruing to the Nigeria Immigration Service and Customs Service as a source of funding as contained in the repealed Act of 2023.

Furthermore, it establishes a General Reserve Fund and stipulates National Assembly appropriation, investment income, charges and fees by NELFUND and repayment of interest on loans as some sources of funding.

Also, the Act establishes a Board of Directors for the Fund, to be headed by a non-executive Chairman. It makes provision for the Board of the Fund to make specific regulations regarding the process of loan applications and the criteria for granting loans in each financial year.

Loan Repayment

While the repealed Students Loans Act 2023 criminalised failure to repay loans, the 2024 Act provides that loan repayment may be waived in the event of death, cases of hardship, or acts of God causing inability to repay the loan amount or where the cost of recovery exceeds the amount being sought. The 2024 Act maintains that loan recovery efforts are to be initiated two years after a recipient of a student loan completes the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme. However, it provides that a recipient of a student loan may request an extension of enforcement by providing an affidavit to the effect that he or she is unemployed and is not receiving any income.

The expanded eligibility criteria and relaxed requirements for loan applicants may lead to a surge in demand, potentially straining available resources. Addressing this challenge will require prudent management and strategic allocation of funds to meet the demand for educational financing.

Overall, the Student Loan Act is a welcome development. If implemented properly will lead to an increased access to higher education in Nigeria and also more funding to drive positive impact in the educational sector.

Source: https://dailybrief.ng/all-you-need-to-know-about-amended-students-loan-act/

COMRADES are speechless at Tinubu's incompetence and lies
If tinubu really wants to continue helping the children of the poor to go to school, let him continue to subsidise the education like his predecessors

Asiwaju JAGABAN

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Chai! A fraudulent man as a student is giving student loan.

Racoon:
Chai! A fraudulent man as a student is giving student loan.

Asiwaju is wonderful

He doesn't want u to do fraud when u eventually gain admission ni


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