Barring any change in plans, President Bola Tinubu will this week launch the Students Loan Scheme in fulfillment of his campaign promise.
Credible News can report that IT experts engaged by government have completed a test run on the student loan app which is now ready for use.
Recall that on June 12, 2023, President Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023 into law, to enable indigent students access interest-free loans for their educational pursuits in any Nigerian tertiary institution.
The move was in “fulfillment of one of his campaign promises to liberalise funding of education,” a member of the then Presidential Strategy Team, Dele Alake had said.
The Act, popularly known as the Students Loan Law, also established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which is expected to handle all loan requests, grants, disbursement and recovery.
Official working round the clock had promised that he Student Loan Scheme will be launched on February 21, but government missed the target while still trying to source funds for the scheme.
READ ALSO: Probe Federal Government’s $3.4bn COVID-19 loan, subsidy savings, others, CSOs tell NASS
A major opponent of the scheme is the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, which described it as discriminatory between the children of the rich and the poor.
National President, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said “everyone knows our position on student loans because you will end up encumbering the children of the poor with loans and debt after graduating. This is discriminatory. If what I read online is correct, it said it is only for children whose parents earn at least N500,000 per anum. That means if your father earns more, you won’t benefit.”
The Bauchi Zone of ASUU rejected the proposed student loan scheme, describing it as a means to keep Nigerian students in debt. Zonal Coordinator, Lazarus Maigoro questioned the feasibility of the loan scheme, expressing concerns over the burden it would place on students.
Instead he suggested granting of non-refundable grants to Nigerian students instead of loans, even as he highlighted the potential psychological trauma students might endure while studying and facing the prospect of graduating with substantial debts.
“The question is: who will pay the loan? What is the fate of those who cannot access it?” Maigoro asked and painted a picture of the distress faced by students due to the harsh economic realities in the country, attributing the financial strain to the government’s perceived negligence in funding universities.
Credible News recalls that on January 22, 2024, the Executive Secretary of the Student Loan Board, Akintunde Sawyerr said the student loan application to be launched soon will be devoid of human interference. He said the intention behind the Access to Higher Education Act 2023, was to ensure that the lack of finance is not a reason for any Nigerian not to go further in their education at a tertiary level.
Reports gathered by Credible News indicate that the test run of the student loan app is completed and the official app for registration process may be provided soon.
Students are required to provide details such as JAMB registration number, date of birth, national identification Number,NIN and Biometric Verification Number before they can access the app.
