President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, signed the student loan bill, which seeks to provide interest-free financial assistance to Nigerian students in tertiary institutions, into law.
The bill, sponsored by the immediate-past speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, was passed by the Senate in November 2022. It passed the third reading at the lower chamber on May 25, 2023.
The bill was titled, “A Bill For An Act To Provide For Easy Access To Higher Education For Nigerians Through Interest-free Loans From The Nigerian Education Bank.”
Gbajabiamila had argued that the hardship being faced by the unemployed and low-income earners coupled with the very high cost of living in Nigeria over the years made access to quality higher education difficult, stressful and in some cases impossible.
He, therefore, proposed the establishment of an education bank, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, to oversee the disbursement of the loan for the payment of tuition fees to all students in any public tertiary institution in Nigeria irrespective of the student’s religion, ethnic group, gender, etc.
With the President’s assent to the bill, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which shall “have the powers to approve and disburse the loan to qualified applicants; control, monitor, and coordinate the students’ loan” is to be established.
The signing of the bill is in fulfilment of President Tinubu’s promise to improve the education sector during his campaign.
“The education system is to change. We would overhaul it and tinker with some areas with the philosophy that no one would be left behind,” he said at Chatham House on Monday, December 5, 2022.
“There will be student loans for all. We are going to reform the Almajiri system, We are equally going to build more schools, and recruit more teachers and train them well.”
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