Abuja – The federal government has announced its commitment to ensuring the commencement of interest-free student loans between September and October 2023. The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Andrew David Adejo, revealed this during a press briefing in Abuja. President Bola Tinubu has already approved the formation of a committee consisting of ministries and agencies to oversee the realization of the recently assented Students Loan Bill.
The Student Loan Bill, sponsored by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, aims to provide access to higher education for indigent Nigerian students through interest-free loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. The law seeks to establish the Higher Education Nigerian Bank to facilitate the disbursement of loans while also performing regular banking functions. This approach aims to address past challenges associated with loan recovery.
Speaking about the timeline for implementation, Adejo stated, “The president has directed that by September to October of this 2023/2024 academic session, he wants to see recipients of these loans. So it is a very serious march for us, and between now and then, we have to finalize the process for people to get the loan.”
To ensure efficient management of the loan scheme, the government plans to create a specialized bank exclusively for the operation of these loans. Adejo emphasized that the loans would be accessible to both public and private school students, as the goal is to provide opportunities for all Nigerians seeking higher education.
“We are not going to use existing banks. We are going to create a new bank that will address this because we can’t use an existing bank. We don’t want to make it that only people who want to go to public schools will benefit from it. Private schools are paying tuition, so you have to give them the opportunity,” Adejo explained.
He also highlighted that loan repayment would begin only after the beneficiaries secure employment. Acknowledging President Tinubu as a job creator, Adejo commended his policy direction in prioritizing job creation. He stated, “Our current president today is a job creator from his experience in the private sector, and he has given us policy direction, with job creation being one of the things he is going to do, even though you cannot create a job for everybody.”
Regarding the status of the Student Loan Bill, Adejo clarified that as of June 12, only three individuals have seen the Act: the president, the current Chief of Staff, and himself. He urged patience for the official release of the Act and its subsequent gazette publication by the Ministry of Justice.
