President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Monday, at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, signed the Student Interest Free Loan Bill into law.
The facility seeks to provide financial assistance to Nigerian students in tertiary institutions, into law.
The signing of the bill was witnessed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and a former Lagos Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Dele Alake.
The bill provides that all students seeking education in any tertiary institution in Nigeria shall have an equal right to access the loan under the Act without any discrimination arising from gender, religion, tribe, position, or disability of any kind.
The bill also allows Nigerian students in tertiary institutions to access interest-free loans from the Nigerian education loan fund and provides for the establishment of the Nigerian education bank.
The bank will have the power to administer, supervise, coordinate, and monitor the management of student loans in the country. The bill stated that the loan referred to in this Act shall be granted to students only for the payment of tuition fees.
The payment will not be made to any student personally but directly to his/her school.
It will also monitor the academic records of grantees of the loan to obtain information on their year of graduation, national service, and employment to ensure that grantees of the loan commence repayment of the loan as at when due, among other functions.
However, the grant of the loan to any student by the bank shall be subject to the students/applicant(s) satisfying the requirements and conditions set out under the Act.
The procedure:
1. Students applying for loans must apply to the Chairman of the Nigerian Education Bank through their respective institutions.
2. They must have secured admission into any of the Nigerian Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, or any vocational school established by the Federal Government or the government of any state of the Federation.
3. Applicant must provide at least two guarantors.
4. Each of the guarantors must be a civil servant of not less than level 12 years in service, or a lawyer with at least 10 years post-call experience; of a judicial office of a justice of peace.
5. All applications from every institution must be submitted through the Student Affairs Office of each institution via a list of all qualified applicants from the institution accompanied by a cover letter signed by the vice-chancellor or rector or the head of the institution and the students’ affairs officer and addressed to the chairman of the board of the bank.
Checklist of requirements:
1. Copy of the student’s admission letter
2. Letter by the guarantors addressed to the chairman, governing board of the bank recommending the student for the loan and stating that he accepts the liability in the event of default.
3. Each guarantor must submit two passport photographs, the name of the employer, and evidence of being so employed by the named organisation.
4. Each institution must ensure that all applications from its school reach the bank not more than 30 days after the close of admission for the academic year.
5. Where the guarantor is self-employed, he must provide particulars of his business as registered with the CAC or any other appropriate authority.
A student can be disqualified from accessing a loan if:
1. He is proven to have defaulted in respect of any previous loan granted by any organisation.
2. He has been found guilty of exam malpractice by any school authority.
3. He’s convicted of a felony or any office involving dishonesty or fraud
4. He has been convicted of drug offenses
5. Any of his parents has defaulted in respect of a student loan or any loan granted to him or her.
Repayment process:
1. Any beneficiary of the loan shall commence repayment two years after completion of NYSC.
2. Repayment shall be by direct deduction of 10% of the beneficiaries salary at source by that employer and credited to the students’ loan account.
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