President Bola Tinubu sent tongues wagging on Monday when he signed into law, Students Loan Bill, which will give every youth that long-awaited opportunity to have access to tertiary education even when parents and guardian have no means of providing the financial base to sponsor them.
The new bill was first introduced in 2016 by former Speaker of House of Rep, Femi Gbajabiamila. He then reintroduced it in 2019. Under the Education Loan Act, students are allowed to obtain loan to further their tertiary education and would pay back instalmentally two years after their mandatory National Youth Service programme.
Below are seven facts you need to know about the act in layman language, writes iwitnesslive.com David Kabiyesi
1. The fund will be funded from multiple stream meaning one percent of profit coming from oil and other minerals resources . The fund will be generated via one percent from levies, taxes and other revenue going into federal government coffers like Federal Inland Revenue, Nigeria Immigration Service, and Nigeria Custorm Service.
It will be funded through donations, grants, gifts, endowmnet and other revenue.
2 The fund is expected to be domiciled in Central Bank accounts and will managed by 11-man committee that will be headed by CBN Governor.
3. According to section 14 and 16 of the act, only students from governments owned tertiary institutions are eligible to apply for Students loan without no discrimination arising from gender,race, colour, religion, tribe and disability of any kind.
4 Applcantis income must be less than 500,000 per annum to be eligible. Students must also provide at least two guarantors, each of whom must either be a civil servant of at least level 12, a lawyer with at least 10 years post-call experience, or a judicial officer, or a justice of peace.
5. Any student with records of exam malpractice shall be disqualified from having access to the loan. Student will also be denied if they or their parents have defaulted in any kind of loan before or involved in drug
6. The act did not put a cap to how much students can apply for but the Act states in clear terms that repayment of the loan begins exactly two years after the completion of the participation in the NYSC programme.
7. Interested student must get a cover letter signed by their institutions’ VC or Rector, submit a copy of their admission letter, at least two guarantor letters addressed to the chairperson of the committee, two passport photographs from each of the guarantors, their employer and evidence of employment
