Student Loan Bill Passes Second Reading In Senate, House

Indigent Nigerian students hoping to benefit from the current administration’s student loan scheme, especially in the face of the present economic hardship, may have to wait longer.

This is because President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has written to the Senate and the House of Representatives, seeking the repeal the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Bill and enact a new one.

The president’s letter conveying the repeal and re-enactment of the law was read on the floor of the House at plenary on Thursday by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

The new 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), applicant eligibility requirements, loan purpose, funding sources and disbursement and repayment procedures.

Tinubu had signed the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Bill, 2019 into law barely two weeks in office.

The legislation provides for the establishment of the Nigerian Education Fund, domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from which qualified applicants can access education loans through the commercial banks in the country.

However, stakeholders in the education, legal and financial sectors had identified some shortcomings in the Act during the summit on the law organised by the House Ad-hoc Committee in August last year.

For instance, the then president, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Usman Barambu, had called for the amendment of the stringent conditions which would hamper students’ access to the loan.

Also, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and the vice chairman of the Body of Benchers, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, had said the Act was made in a hurry with defects that need to be addressed for it to achieve the desired results.

A policy brief on the proposed amendment provides for the establishment of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as a body corporate that can sue and be sued in its name and has the power to acquire, hold, and dispose of movable and immovable property for the purpose of its functions.