President Bola Tinubu signed the Students Loan Bill into law on Monday.
This was announced by the spokesperson to the Federal Government, Dele Alake, saying that the funds will be domiciled in the Ministry of Education and will only be accessed by indigent students of tertiary institutions.
The Students Loan Bill sponsored by the Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, which provides for interest-free loans to indigent Nigerian students, passed the third reading at the House, two weeks ago.
The law is to provide easy access to higher education for indigent Nigerians through interest-free loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Here are seven things to know about this law which is meant to make education accessible to all:
1. The Act provides an interest-free loan for indigent students in which beneficiaries will only pay back the exact amount they collect.
2. The Act offers loans for poor students seeking higher education in public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country.
3. 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.
4. The loan shall be accessible to only indigent students studying within Nigeria and it’s for the payment of tuition fees alone.
5. 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.
6. The repayment of the loan will begin two years after the National Youth Service Corps Scheme is completed.
7. There will be jail terms for student loan defaulters.
