From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Both chambers of the National Assembly, yesterday, passed the student loan (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024.
The bill speedily scaled first, second and third readings in the Houses of Representatives and the Senate.
The bill 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).
The proposed legislation seeks to “provide loans to qualified applicants to pay tuition fees, charges and up keep during their course of study in approved Tertiary Education Institutions and Vocational and Skills Acquisition Institutions in Nigeria”.
The chairman, House Committee on Students Loan, Isiaka Gboyega, while presenting the report of the joint Committee, explained that the bill
“to Establish the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as a Body Corporate to Receive, Manage and Invest Funds to Provide Loans to Nigerians for Higher Education, Vocational Training and Skills.”
President Bola Tinubu, had last week written to the House of Representatives seeking for the repeal and reenactment of the Students Loan Act 2023, to address some challenges impeding the implementation.
A policy brief provided by the President indicates that the new bill “removes the family income threshold so Nigerian students can apply for these loans and accept responsibility for repayment according to the Fund’s guidelines.”
It also “removes the guarantor requirement so that students can apply for and receive loans subject to application and identity
verification guidelines as provided by the Fund.” While “applicants to the Fund may apply for loans to cover tuition and
other fees payable to the school and maintenance allowance payable to the student.”
According to the policy brief, the repayment of the loans “by beneficiaries of the Fund shall begin as soon as the beneficiary becomes employed in any capacity. The Fund shall not initiate loan recovery efforts until two years after the completion of the National Youth Service programme.
“A beneficiary may request an extension of enforcement action by the Fund by providing a sworn indicating that he is not employed in any capacity and is not receiving any income.”
Nevertheless, while the new bill provided for “ loan forgiveness in the event of death or acts of God causing inability to repay, “ it states year “only a person who provides a false statement to the Fund under this section is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment
for three years.”
The repealed act had disqualified students whose parents earns N45,000 a month is from applying for the student loan, while applicants for the loan are expected to provide two guarantors who shall be a civil servant of level 12 and above, a lawyer with ten years post-call experience, a judicial officer, or a justice of the peace.