By Daniel Bulusson A.K.A Barrister Monkey Jacket

On assumption of office as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in fulfillment of one of his campaign promises that students will easily get loans to fund their education, on the 12th of June, 2023 signed into law the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Bill. After this event, our typical Nigerian self went agog for and against the law on social media, many without even having a glance at the provisions of the Law, hence the purpose for this article.

The law is an Act of the National Assembly to repeal the Nigerian Education Bank Act of 1993, and provide easy access to higher education for indigent Nigerians through interest free loans from the Education Loan Fund with a view to providing education for all Nigerians. Shockingly, even this writer wasn’t aware that there was a Nigerian Education Bank Act passed into law since 1993, the difference however between the old Act and the new Act, is that: in the Nigerian Education Bank Act of 1993 there must be a bank specifically established for the purpose of disbursing loans to students and this never saw the light of day, while the Student Loan Act provides for an Educational Fund that can be accessed by students through their Deposit Money Banks to pay for their tuition fees.

Which begs the question, how then does a student become eligible to apply for the student’s loan? By the provision of Section (14) of the law, (a.) the applicant must have secured admission into any of the Nigerian Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of education or any vocational school established by the State or Federal Government (this means private universities are exempted), (b.) the applicant income or family income must be less than N500,000 per annum, (c.), applicant must provide two guarantor’s who shall either be a civil servant of at least grade level 12, lawyer with at least 10 years post call, a judicial officer or justice of the peace.

On the other hand, a student is disqualified from accessing the loan if (a.) he/she is proven to have defaulted in respect of any previous loan granted by any organization, (b.) he/she has being found guilty of exam malpractice by any school authority, (c.) he/she is convicted of a felony, or any offences involving dishonesty or fraud, (c.) he has been convicted of drug offences, and (d.) where any of the parent has defaulted in respect of students loan or any loan granted to the person.

It has become a tradition in our country, that whenever Government advances loan or grants to us Nigerians, we hardly pay back, and such custom has already made parents and stakeholders to ask how the Government intends to recover disbursed loans and if there is a framework for recovery.

The law provides that any beneficiary of the loan shall commence repayment two years after completion of the NYSC programme. Repayment shall be by direct deduction of 10% of the beneficiaries’ salary at source by the employer and credited to the fund. Any change of job shall be communicated to the chairman of the special committee within 30 days of resuming with his/her new employer with details of the new job.

Irrespective of how beautiful the provisions of the Students Loan Act, 2023, some stakeholders have still expressed concern on the possibility of a 100% implementation by the institutions involved. Firstly, the law provides that all applications must be submitted through the Applicant’s Bank to the Chairman of the Committee, accompanied by a cover letter signed by the Vice Chancellor or rector and (meaning compulsory) the students affairs officer of the institution, so what then happens if this individual’s refuse to write a cover letter for the Applicant?

Secondly, there is already a gridlock of correspondence in our financial institutions, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, how then are we going to ensure an efficient and seamless means of correspondence between the applicant’s and the special committee, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Deposit money banks? These are areas I feel the special committee ought to look into to ensure that the Student Loan does not become a house built on sand, which cannot withstand the storm that is coming with the enforcement of a law of this kind.

The silver lining in all these is that, the president has also directed that by September to October of 2023/2024 academic session, he wants to see recipients of these loans, so it is important that those who are eligible begin to work on their application process, because it is only when we try it out that we can know the viability and efficacy of the Student Loan Act, it is not enough to just stand on the sideline and yet, throw the baby out with the bath water.