Admin l Wednesday, June 14, 2023
ABUJA, Nigeria – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Access to Higher Education Bill into law, formally establishing the Nigeria Education Bank to provide loans for indigent students seeking to pursue higher education.
The bank will have head office in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja with branches in all states of the federation.
The bill, sponsored by former speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila also provides for the establishment of a board for the bank(governing body), comprising a chairman, who shall be a professor and a retired Vice Chancellor of any Nigerian University; a Managing Director, Secretary, Minister of Education, the Chairman, NUC and a representative of VC from all Nigerian universities; a representative of the Rectors forum of all Nigerian polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria; the minister of finance or his representative, auditor general of the federation; representative of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, representative of the Nigerian Bar Association and representative of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
The chairman of Nigeria Education Bank and board members shall be appointed by the president subject to confirmation by the National Assembly and shall hold office for a term of four years initially and subject to reappointment.
Eligibility for the loan/default
To be eligible for the loan, the applicant/ family income must be less than N500,000 per annum; the loan shall strictly be for payment of school fees and shall be interest free; payment of the loan shall commence two years after completion of the applicant’s National Youth Service Corps, NYSC; defaulters, or anyone aiding them shall be liable on conviction to two years imprisonment or a fine of N500,000 or both.
Payment
When it comes to payment, the act spells it out that 10 percent of applicant’s salary shall be deducted at source by any employer for the repayment of the loan. However, if the beneficiary is self-employed, he or she is to remit 10 percent of total monthly profit as repayment for the loan.
Processing/Disbursement
However, processing and disbursement of the loan shall be made within 30 days of the application reaching the bank. An applicant can be disqualified if they or their parents have defaulted in the payment of any loan in the past or they(students) have been convicted of drug related offences, or any felony involving dishonesty or fraud, or if the student has been found guilty of examination malpractices by any school authority.
All applicants must apply to the chairman of the bank through the Students Affairs Office of their various institutions, university, polytechnic, colleges of education, or vocational schools established by the federal government or any state government.
Each applicant is required to provide two guarantors, who must be civil servants, with at least 12 years of experience or a lawyer with at least 10 years post-call experience, a judicial officer or a justice of peace
“ I am pleased to have signed into law the Access to Higher Education Act, which provides interest-free loans to deserving students across the country, who wish to further their education in tertiary institutions.
“With this act, we shall ensure that every deserving student has access to affordable and quality education irrespective of their financial background”, President Tinubu said.
