The student loan bill signed into law on Monday by President Bola Tinubu came with some benefits for the beneficiaries that Nigerians should know.
OsunDaily News reports that the students loan act signed into law will enable indigent students to access federal government loans to fund their educational pursuits or career.
The bill was signed into law today after passing a second reading at the House of Representatives on May 25, 2023.
What Nigerians must know about the student loan bill:
- The Act provides an interest-free loan for indigent students in which beneficiaries will only pay back the exact amount they collect.
- The Act offers loans for poor students seeking higher education in public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country.
- The Act enables all indigent students to have equal rights to access the loan without any form of discrimination arising from gender, religion, tribe, position or disability of any kind.
- The Act stipulates that the loan shall be granted to indigent students only for the payment of tuition fees.
- The Act states that there shall be the creation of a Nigerian Education Bank with the aim to offer education for all Nigerians in matters pertaining to loans.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Federal University of Technology, Minna chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Gbolahan Bolarin has condemned the student loan bill signed into law on Monday by President Bola Tinubu.
The academic don was of the opinion that the law is not feasible as the peculiarities of Nigeria were not considered before signing the bill into law.
According to him the problem with Nigeria and such initiatives is that the leadership wants to replicate what they see in some other countries without giving any consideration to what is obtainable in Nigeria.
He lamented that it may be difficult for students who obtain the loan to pay back due to the high unemployment rate among graduates as well as the abysmal minimum wage.
Prof. Bolarin revealed that ASUU stood against the bill from the beginning because the scheme is not feasible nor sustainable and is therefore “dead on arrival.”
He said: “The problem in Nigeria is that we copy policies from other countries and want to replicate them in our country without considering the situation here. Where are the jobs in Nigeria? There are graduates from over 20 years ago who are still jobless. Now the thing about this scheme is that as you repay, another person gets access to the loan.
“Now that the scheme will provide N1m per year, suppose a student comes to FUTMinna and stays for five years. That means you will receive N5m; what is the guarantee that you will get a job to pay it back? As of today, the minimum wage is N30,000. Is it feasible?
“From the beginning, ASUU fought against it because of these issues. There are no two ways about it; this scheme is not going to be sustainable. You can see universities hiking fees, more universities will do this because governing councils of schools are looking for ways to fund schools; before you know it, the level of enrolment in public universities will be reduced.”
