Vulnerable Nigerians desirous of pursuing education may heave a sigh of relief soon following Thursday’s passage of the Student Loans Re-enactment bill for Second Reading by the House of Representatives.
The executive bill was titled “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2023 and Enact the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Bill, 2004 to Establish the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as a body corporate to receive, manage and invest funds to provide loans to Nigerians for higher education, vocational training and skills acquisition and for related matters.”
The bill was moved on the floor of the House by the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere.
Before asking Ihonvbere to lead the debate on the general principles of the bill, the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, read President Tinubu’s letter, titled, “Transmission of Student Loans (Access to Higher Education, Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2024,” seeking the nod of the lawmakers to act on the proposed legislation.
In the letter obtained by our correspondent, the President said the bill was aimed at “addressing challenges related to the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, applicant eligibility requirements, loan purpose, funding sources and disbursement and repayment procedures.”
He expressed the hope that the bill “will receive the usual expeditious consideration of the House of Representatives.”
Leading the debate, Ihonvebere, who represents Owan East/Owan West Federal Constituency, Edo State, argued that many young Nigerians desirous of pursuing higher education had not been able to realise their dreams owing to the difficult economic situation in the country.
He said the need for a repeal of the 2023 Act was informed by the lack of clarity in the operational procedures, mode of repayment of the loan as well as sustainability of the scheme, adding that the 2024 Re-Enactment Bill had addressed the lapses.
“Education is a valid instrument in the fight against poverty and thankfully, we now have a President who is committed to making education affordable to all Nigerians. I urge my colleagues to give this bill an accelerated hearing,” he said.
The Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act 2023 was signed into
law by President Tinubu on June 12, 2023.
The take-off of the scheme, which was earlier, slated for December last year, has been repeatedly postponed.
The last postponement was, on Wednesday, when the Federal Government announced that the proposed take-off on Thursday had been shifted further by four weeks.
In an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, the Senate President of NANS, Afeez Akinteye, said, “Many Nigerian students have lost hope in the loan. Some even believe it will not work again.”
On his part, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, restated his reservation about the student loan scheme, stating that scholarships, grants, and bursaries were better.
“Our position has been made known. We don’t believe it will work because it has been there in the past, it didn’t work out. If they have compassion for the young boys and girls of this country, it should be converted to bursary, grant, or scholarship, not loans because there is no job in this country,” Osodeke said.
