Tuesday, April 2, 2024 – President Bola Tinubu has signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law.
This comes after separate considerations by
both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the report of the Committee
on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund.
The Bill sponsored by Senator representing
Ekiti Central Senatorial District of Ekiti State, Bamidele Opeyemi aims to
improve the execution of the Higher Education Student Loan Scheme in Nigeria by
tackling issues related to the management structure of the Nigerian Education
Loan Fund, applicant eligibility criteria, loan purposes, funding sources, and
procedures for disbursement and repayment.
The bill will help eliminate the
income-based eligibility criterion set by the existing law, which required an
annual income of less than N500,000 for applicants or their families. The Bill
also broadens the scope of eligibility, allowing students from federally or
state-established tertiary institutions and government-approved vocational
institutions to apply, with specific criteria to be determined by the Fund.
Additionally, unlike the 2023 Act, which
limited loan applications solely to tuition fees, the new Bill permits
applicants to request loans to cover various institutional charges and
maintenance allowances.
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