Education
Students Loan: All you need to know about new bill
The National Assembly, on Wednesday, passed the Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024. 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
Gatekeeper recalls that less than one year after President Bola Tinubu signed the Students Loan Bill into law, the legislation was returned to the National Assembly for a complete overhaul.
For eight months, President Tinubu, who campaigned on providing loans to students, struggled to implement the law with several missed deadlines.
The president faced criticism over the several missed deadlines for the implementation of the policy.
However, Mr Tinubu on Thursday forwarded a bill to the National Assembly seeking a repeal and re-enactment of the bill.
According to the president, some of the provisions of the law made it difficult to kickstart the project. He, therefore, urged lawmakers to do a complete overhaul of the legislation.
“The bill seeks to address the challenges relating to the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), applicant eligibility requirements, loan purpose, funding sources and disbursement and repayment procedures,” the president said in a letter addressed to the National Assembly.
In this report, DAILY POST reviews some of the changes President Tinubu is proposing in the law.
Inclusion of all students
One of the major issues the proposed amendment seeks to cure is the exclusion of some of the group of students because of the wording of the law.
The existing Act provides that the loan is for payment of tuition fees and nothing more. President Tinubu, in the letter, said such provision would prevent federal university students from accessing the loan because they don’t pay tuition.
Under the current legislation, students can only apply for loans to pay tuition fees. Federal tertiary institutions don’t charge tuition fees. However, students must pay other institutional charges.
Also, under the current Act, students would not be able to apply to the Fund for loans to cover those other institutional charges or their other upkeep costs, thus defeating the purpose of the loan, which is to ease access to tertiary education for young Nigerians.
The proposed bill says the fund can “provide loans to qualified Nigerians for tuition, fees, charges, and upkeep during their studies in approved tertiary education institutions and vocational and skills acquisition institutions in Nigeria.”
Transfer of operational powers from the CBN governor
In the current Act, the CBN Governor has the responsibility of administering the fund. The administration of the Fund is vested in a Special Committee, with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the Chairman. The Governor implements the committee’s executive decisions and appoints a Secretary to assist.
If the new bill is passed, the CBN governor will be stripped of the implementation of the fund. The implementation will now be handled by the Managing Director of the Fund.
Mr Tinubu said in his letter: “The Act imposes on the Governor of the CBN management and executive responsibilities outside the core mandate of the CBN, which should be the Governor’s focus.”
Removing Guarantors
The bill by the President is also seeking to remove some of the conditions to qualify students for the loan.
For instance, for any student to qualify for the loan, he must provide two guarantors who shall be a civil servant of level 12 and above, a lawyer with ten years post-call experience, a judicial officer, or a justice of the peace
Also, the current Act allows only applicants with a combined family income of less than N500,000 per annum to apply. Under this provision, the child of a person who earns N45,000 a month is disqualified from applying for this loan.
Children of loan defaulters banned from accessing loan
In addition, the Act contains a provision that bans the children of defaulters from accessing loans.
In the proposed Act, student applicants can no longer be disqualified based on their parent’s loan history.
Payment to commence two years after work
The Act criminalises failure to repay loans obtained from the Fund without consideration for circumstances, including unemployment, death, or disability, that may affect an individual’s ability to pay.
It merely provides that “The Fund shall not initiate loan recovery efforts until two years after the completion of the National Youth Service programme.”
In the letter, the president said beneficiaries of the Fund shall begin repayment as soon as they are employed in any capacity.
Loan forgiveness on event of death
In the proposed bill, the loan ends with the death of a beneficiary.
The president said the bill “makes provision for loan forgiveness in the event of death or acts of God causing inability to repay.”
“A beneficiary may request an extension of enforcement action by the Fund by providing a sworn affidavit indicating that he is not employed in any capacity and is not receiving any income.
“Only a person who provides a false statement to the Fund under this section is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.”
The Kano State Government has directed all private and voluntary schools in the state to strictly adhere to the 2024/25 school calendar issued by the Ministry of Education.
The Director of Special Duties, Ministry of Education, Mustapha Yahya, made this known in a statement on Thursday and obtained by PUNCH.
“All primary and post-primary schools in Kano state must close on Friday, February 28, 2025, and reopen on Sunday, April 6, 2025,” it reads.
The statement further warned that any school that fails to comply will face penalties. “Schools that fail to comply with this directive will face appropriate sanctions,” it stated.
He said the directive aligns with the state government’s policy under Governor Abba Yusuf to enhance teaching and learning while ensuring balanced and sustainable school operations.
“This measure is to ensure improved teaching and learning while promoting balanced and sustainable growth in schools across the state,” the statement added.
The Ministry of Education reaffirmed its commitment to providing high-quality education and enforcing adherence to the approved calendar.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa yesterday disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the conversion of the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) to a university.
He broke the good news to the management, staff and students of the 78-year-old institution during a working visit to YABATECH.
His words: “The rector said some minutes ago that the management, staff and students of the college have been praying and fasting that it be converted to a university. Somehow, you have kind of ambush me, but I must let you know that when I discussed the issue with President Bola Tinubu, he did not waste time in giving approval. I am just waiting for the memo and other necessary protocols from the appropriate quarters.
“This school is a legacy and with over 200 staff members holding doctorate degrees in various fields, it is more than ready and fit to become a university. All the credit about this should go to the President, who loves education and is concerned about giving the best to the youths, who are our future leaders.”
The education minister Alausa went round the institution to commission and inspect some ongoing projects, expressed satisfaction with the maintenance culture of the management that has kept the facilities in good shape despite their age.
He commended YABATECH management for pursuing excellence, adding, “we need innovation and investments in technology for development and I can assure you that the federal government will back you up.”
Alausa observed that one of the reasons the Tinubu administration is focusing on technical and vocational education as well as entrepreneurship is to stem the “Japa Syndrome” among the youths.
Said he: “We are not taking the issue of Artificial Intelligence, robotics, coding and others with levity. We know that if our youths are good at those things, they can be in Nigeria and be working for firms in many parts of the world and they will be earning foreign exchange. That will help stem this “Japa syndrome” of a thing, where people would travel abroad to do menial jobs.”
The minister said that for over three decades, Nigeria abandoned technical and vocational education and focused on producing graduates, who are always after white collar jobs and that now, the focus has changed.
“In Europe and other places, the focus has been on incorporating TVET to become a core aspect of their education system and that is what we are doing now. We need education that would aid manufacturing and technological innovations and that will also lead to a robust private sector which will drive societal growth and development, ” Alausa stated.
In his remarks, the Rector, Dr Ibraheem Abdul, said with over 200 PhD holders in its services, YABATECH was more than qualified to become a university.
He added: “While we are praying that we become a university, we don’t want to become just one of those universities. We want to be a university of Technical and Vocational Education that would bring innovation and also solve societal problems and challenges and contribute greatly to the advancement of our country. We have the manpower and we just need the support of the government in this regard,” the rector noted.
He highlighted various achievements recorded under his administration and vowed that the management would not relent in raising the stakes higher.
The Chairman, Governing Council, Prof. Funso Afolabi, lauded the education minister for the visit and appealed to him in supporting their demands.
“The bill that would state the change in status of YABATECH and the new name it would bear is expected to be sent to the National Assembly for passage and presidential assent,” Afolabi stated.
Federal Government has made a U-turn on the proposed scrapping of the Junior and senior secondary school system replacing it with 12 years compulsory education.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, told journalists at a press conference in Abuja, on Friday, that policy is at the proposal level and final decision has not been taken on the matter.
It was reported on Friday that the National Council of Education (NCE) has approved the scrapping of senior secondary system of education.
More details later..
Couple arrested for gun running in Delta, wife confesses to helping hubby dispatch firearms
Nigeria lost ₦120 billion to Illegal charter operations –Keyamo
Women’s coalition condemns Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension, writes Tinubu over perceived injustice
Know The Airlines, Departure And Arrival Terminals In Lagos Airports By Ayodeji Awokunmi
Know the Airlines, departure, and arrival terminals in Lagos Domestic Airports
Dissecting Caritas CEO’S ‘Public Relations Thoughts And Deeds’ By Stanley Olisa
-
News1 week agoSenator Natasha: Don’t be in position men will talk to you anyhow – Tinubu’s wife tells women
-
News1 week agoBREAKING: Doyin Okupe is dead
-
News1 week agoWhy I lied at Ebuka Obi’s church – Woman speaks after fake N500m mansion testimony
-
Entertainment1 week agoWhy I can’t forgive nurse who injected my husband – Mohbad’s wife
-
Politics1 week agoFormer Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel in EFCC custody for alleged N700bn fraud
-
News1 day agoLagos HoA Crisis: Let Obasa Stay, Tinubu Tells Lawmakers
-
Education1 week ago
Kano Govt. insists schools remain closed till April 6
-
News1 day agoWhy we suspended Senator Natasha – Nigerian Senate writes IPU