The federal government has initiated the required preparations to facilitate the commencement of student loans between September and October 2023. Andrew David Adejo, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja.
He further mentioned that President Bola Tinubu has already sanctioned the formation of a committee comprising ministries and agencies to oversee the implementation of the Students Loan Bill, which he recently signed into law. It is worth noting that Tinubu fulfilled his campaign promise by enacting the Student Loan Bill last week.
Adejo said: “The president has also directed that by September to October of this 2023/2024 academic session, he wants to see recipients of these loans. So it is a very serious march for us so between now and then we have to phantom the process for people to get the loan.”
David Adejo also emphasized that the government plans to establish a dedicated financial institution to oversee the administration of student loans.
He highlighted the importance of implementing a robust tracking system to ensure the effective management of the loan scheme.
Furthermore, he stated that the loan program will apply to students in both private and public educational institutions. As part of these efforts, the government intends to establish a new bank specifically to manage the student loan system.
“We are not going to use existing banks. We are going to create a new bank that will address this because we can’t use an existing bank.
“We don’t want to make it that only people who want to go to public schools will benefit from, private schools are paying tuition so you have to give them the opportunity
“The loan is for you to get an education programme and get employed then you start paying back. The loan recovery does not start until you get employed.
Adejo further commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for being a job creator, “Our current president today is a job creator from his experience from the private sector and he has given us policy direction and job creation is one of the things he is going to do, even though you cannot create a job for everybody,” He noted
Adejo however implored the public to wait till they see the Act which is been prepared by the Ministry of Justice, “What you have seen is the bill. The president has assented to the bill, let us wait to see the Act and you get the Act when it is transmitted to the Ministry of Justice to produce a gazette,”
