The Federal Government has announced that federal institutions will be the initial beneficiaries of the student loan scheme, which is set to commence next week.
According to an earlier report by Tribune Online, President Bola Tinubu’s administration revealed that the scheme would begin on May 24th.
Providing an update on this initiative, Akintunde Swayerr, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, stated that the loan distribution will occur in phases.
During an interview with Arise Television on Friday, Swayerr confirmed that the loan application portal would indeed open on May 24th, as previously announced.
Swayerr also mentioned that the government has organised a sensitization campaign to educate Nigerians on the workings of the scheme.
He emphasised that the student loan scheme aims to bridge the financing gap for Nigerian students, enhance their resourcefulness, and ultimately contribute to the country’s development.
“On the 3rd of April 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed into law a monumental act that seeks to bridge the financing gap for applicants who want to get a higher education that is tertiary level and who want to get vocational training to get proper qualifications that enable them to be more marketable and useful to the Nigerian society.
“The fund covers 100 per cent of all the fees of tertiary institutions. There’s also upkeep for the student.”
Swayerr noted that this plan will be rolled out in schemes and the first being the public institutions, because of the large number of students in that sector requiring financial aid.
“We’re going to roll this plan out in phases. The first phase will be with federal institutions, then to others.
“It’s going to be the public sector at the beginning because that’s where we find the bulk of students that perhaps need the financing cover and are most vulnerable.
“We have a system that hopefully makes this have a national spread and some degree of equal opportunity for those who have the desire, capacity, and eligibility to engage in this scheme,” he stated.
While explaining the modalities of the online application, he said, “We’re going to open the portal for applicants on the 24th of May, so those who want to apply can.
“It doesn’t mean they get it that day; it just means they can apply and begin to understand the process, and then after that, there will be an evaluation for those who have qualified for the loan, and then an approval will be given for those who qualified.
“The application allows them to create an individual account where they can go online to see their loan status.
“Then they get a letter within 30 days telling them whether they are eligible or not; if they are eligible, we will disburse the loan directly to the institution when the course begins.”
Further speaking on the process of evaluation of the application, he said, “The application is open to everyone, we’ll do an evaluation, and whatever data we have that helps us determine the neediest, we’ll use it to make judgements.
“When applications begin to come in, we will turn the information into intelligence and use the intelligence for decision-making.
“It is an online IT application and will include their JAMB number, NIN, BVN, admission number, and matriculation number.
“The BVN is that we’ll be able to make some determination as to how much money they have in their accounts; there’s also a declaration that they will state how much of a need they have. It’s a loan and not a grant.”
The loan scheme states that the student must repay the loan two years after completing National Youth Service, but due to the high rate of youth unemployment, he clarified the provisions made.
“It’s 2 years after NYSC for repayment. In the event that you find yourself 2 years after NYSC and you don’t have a job, you can’t oblige people to pay for loans when they’re not working. This law does not seek to criminalise people. We seek to encourage people to take the loan.
“In cases of unemployment, what it does is that when you get a job 2 years post NYSC, the employer is the one obligated to make deductions after checking the register to pay it back.
“In the event that they are self-employed, then they’re obliged to make a self-declaration and make a voluntary payment back to the loan scheme.
“The instalment payment back to the fund will be a percentage of what they’re earning, probably around 10 per cent.”
He urged students applying for the loan to conduct research, ask the right questions, and seek clarification.
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