Posted by The Federal Government stated on Wednesday that the processes for the payout of student loans, which is slated to begin between September and October 2023, are nearing completion.
In Abuja, while speaking with reporters about the new Student Loan Act, David Adejo, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, disclosed this.
According to twiscoloaded, President Tinubu fulfilled a campaign pledge when he signed the Student Loan Bill into law on Monday.
The measure offers interest-free loans to poor Nigerian students and is backed by 9th House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.
Adejo claims that by establishing the Higher Education Nigerian Bank, the measure will guarantee that every Nigerian has access to higher education.
“We won’t make use of the current banks. To remedy this, we’re planning to establish a new bank. The bank will not be the type to sit down and collect application loans after learning from past experiences. Due to past instances of debt recovery, it would also carry out standard banking operations and ensure loans are made, he added.
“The legislation as it is gives us the process,” Adejo said, “but as I speak with you today, the President has approved a committee made up of the ministries and agencies, and their meeting is scheduled for June 20.
The President has also instructed that he wants to see the people who received these loans by September or October of this academic year 2023-2024. We must understand the loan application process between now and then because it is a really serious march for us.
The Permanent Secretary promised that in addition to setting up a specialized bank to manage the loans, there would be a tracking system to ensure the plan ran smoothly and efficiently.
According to him, the loan’s goal is to aid applicants in enrolling in educational programs so they can go on to find employment.
He emphasized that loan repayment does not begin until the applicant secures employment.
“We don’t want to make it so that only people who want to go to public schools will benefit from it; private schools are paying tuition, so you have to give them the opportunity,” he continued.