…Amendment Bill Passes Second Reading in the Senate The trajectory of President Bola Tinubu’s student loan scheme, a flagship programme for his administration, has been overshadowed by a cloud of confusion and uncertainty as the Federal Government continues to show inconsistencies in its takeoff. The student loan scheme, whose launch had been advertised previously has
…Amendment Bill Passes Second Reading in the Senate
The trajectory of President Bola Tinubu’s student loan scheme, a flagship programme for his administration, has been overshadowed by a cloud of confusion and uncertainty as the Federal Government continues to show inconsistencies in its takeoff.
The student loan scheme, whose launch had been advertised previously has now been postponed indefinitely. It is one of President Tinubu’s renewed hope campaign promises, which gave Nigerians hope when it was announced that it had been signed into law by the president on June 12, 2023, during the country’s Democracy Day celebration.
The Minister for Budget and Economic Planning on Thursday said a sum of N60 Billion has been provided for in this year’s budget for the student loan scheme.
Sponsored by the Current Chief of Staff to the President, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, when he was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the student loan scheme, also known as the Access to Higher Education bill, came as soothing as Nigerians savoured the negative effect of the removal of petrol subsidy by the president. According to the president, “the student loan scheme would bring respite to the hardship and lack of financial capability of many Nigerians to attend higher institutions”.
The government further explained that it was a very serious march for it and between the time of bill signing and implementation the people would be processed to have access to the loan.
But the policy has been welcomed with an avalanche of criticisms from Nigerians, who described the policy as a Greek gift, due to some of the modalities involved in accessing the loan, especially for the indigent masses. Some of the reactions from Nigerians hinged on the fact that the policy was not feasible and the implementation might not come to fruition, as the government threatened N500,000 fines or imprisonment for the defaulters.
Despite the criticism from Nigerians, the Federal Government announced that the programme would commence in October 2023, surprisingly, it did not. Not able to meet the deadline, President Tinubu announced that the loan scheme would kick off on January 23, 2024.
But on January 22, 2024, President Tinubu, asked the management of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the agency in charge of the scheme, to widen its horizons to provide interest-free loans to all Nigerian students interested in skill-development programmes.
Due to the faults found in the modalities set for the loans and the eligibility procedures, the president directed the executive secretary of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, to extend the programme’s launch to February 2024.
The President placed more emphasis on making the loan accessible to all students of high institutions, including other skill acquisition institutions “This is not an exclusive programme. It is catering to all of our young people. Young Nigerians are gifted in different areas. This is not only for those who want to be doctors, lawyers, and accountants,” he said.
In the same light, the president directed the making of the loan scheme website as NELFUND began to work with the Central Bank of Nigeria for a smooth launch on February 26, 2024. This also pushed the CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso to hold the inaugural meeting with NELFUND.
However, the programme failed to kickstart as the government announced that the scheme would finally be launched in March. The NELFUND executive secretary, in his defence, attributed the failure to technical issues which would be fixed before the new set date, which would be March 14.
While all fingers were crossed with an emblem of hope that the Student loan programme had finally come to light, the Federal Government announced that the scheme launch had been postponed indefinitely, leaving Nigerians agog.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to commit to a specific date. We are sort of waiting to ensure that all the stakeholders are aligned to make sure that nobody is blindsided, then we can roll this out in a meaningful, comprehensive, wholesome and sustainable way”, Mr Sawyerr stated while speaking on March 12 on Arise Television.
As a result, many stakeholders, including student organizations, frowned at the unwillingness of the government to implement the scheme, describing the development as an extension of the sufferings of Nigerian students.
However, in another plot twist, the Federal Government debunked the claim that the scheme has been postponed indefinitely, adding that though they have postponed the launch date, it was not indefinitely.
“The attention of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) management has been drawn to reports in some sections of the media, particularly social media, suggesting that the launch of the most-anticipated student loan scheme, initially scheduled for Thursday, March 14, 2024, has been postponed indefinitely,” NELFUND said in a statement
“While there has been a postponement, we wish to state that it is not indefinite, as alluded to in the reports,” the statement from NELFUND read.
While Nigerians were still processing the truthfulness of the government’s stance, President Tinubu wrote to the Senate, seeking reenactment of the student loan, and to enhance the implementation of the scheme. This implies that the president has asked the lawmakers to start the scheme afresh.
Pursuant to Section 58 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), I forward, herewith, the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024 for the kind consideration of the Senate,” the memo read in part.
The Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024 seeks to enhance the implementation of the Higher Education Student Loan Scheme by addressing challenges related to the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), applicant eligibility requirements, loan purpose, funding sources and disbursement, and repayment procedures.”
The recent development has aggravated the confusion around the feasibility of the scheme for Nigerian students who have relied on the government’s intervention to provide education for them. It has also triggered more anxieties and uncertainties for some of the parents who can no longer afford their children’s tuition fees due to arbitrary increments of school fees across the country.
