The Student Loan Scheme of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is now ready to commence.
The scheme in the first instance will benefit approximately 1.2 million students, according to Mr. Akintunde Sawyer. He is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The law backing the loan scheme came into effect on April 3 when President Tinubu signed the bill.
Funding for the scheme will be derived from 1% of annual revenue of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). The FIRS has been assigned a revenue target of N19.4 trillion in 2024. If this target is met, the loan scheme will have N194 billion for disbursement this year.
Repayment, as stipulated by law, begins two years after the students’ completion of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC).
Regarding the scheme’s implementation, Sawyer said that, “Successful applicants will have their tuition fees fully covered, disbursed directly to their institutions. Additionally, stipends will be provided to cover basic living expenses such as food, photocopying, handouts and data.”
Basic Requirements To Apply
Prospective applicants, Sawyer said, must have details such as their Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) numbers, National Identification Number (NIN), and Bank Verification Number (BVN) to be eligible to apply for the loan.
Existing students seeking the loan must provide other additional matriculation details.
Sawyer reiterated President Tinubu’s commitment to improving access to education in Nigeria.
“Without a doubt, President Tinubu intends to ensure that as many Nigerians as possible get this opportunity. That is why he has vigorously pursued this opportunity on behalf of students.
“That is why all of us must join hands to ensure that capacity expansion can happen. This is not going to be an elitist programme. It is a programme that is going to drag as many people into the education net as possible.
“That is what the President intends and that is what we are going to do,” he concluded.
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