The amendment bill on the Student Loan sent by the President to the National Assembly was rushed through first and second reading on the same day last week and was passed by both chambers, paving the way for the smooth take-off of the scheme, TONY AKOWE reports
The Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act 2023 sponsored by former Speaker of the House of Representatives and now Chief of Staff to the President was signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 12 June, 2023. The law was to make available to students interest-free loan to finance their education. Shortly after the signing of the law, several anomalies that needed to be addressed before the commencement of the scheme were identified by stakeholders in the education sector. Criticism of the bill led to the constitution of a technical committee made up of officials of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Central Bank of Nigeria and other stakeholders. The Nation had reported that the technical committee had drafted an amendment to the act which was to be submitted to the National Assembly as an Executive bill. Even though the President assured that the scheme would start in January 2024, it was evident that some of the challenges the students are likely to face must first be addressed.
In his letter to the National Assembly seeking amendment to the act, the President said: “Pursuant to Section 58(2) of the Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). I forward, herewith, The Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024 for the kind consideration of the House of Representatives. The Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re- Enactment) Bill, 2024 seeks to enhance the implementation of the Higher Education Student Loan Scheme by addressing challenges related to the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), applicant eligibility requirements, loan purpose, funding sources and disbursement and repayment procedures.”
Some of the challenges identified as possible obstacles to the implementation of the fund which the amendments set out to address include the governance and management of the fund. For example, the act imposes the responsibility of managing the fund on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who is expected to appoint the Secretary to the fund and many see this as operating outside the core mandate of the CBN. In justifying amending the act, the government said the act does not adequately provide for responsibility and accountability for the fund’s day-to-day management.
The Nation had reported that if the scheme comes into effect without addressing the eligibility criteria, the purpose of the loan would have been defeated as many Nigerian students will not be able to apply and access the loan. In support of the argument, the government told the National Assembly that “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. Under the current act, students would not be able to apply to the fund for loans to cover those other institutional charges or other upkeep costs, thus defeating the purpose of the loan, which is to ease access to tertiary education for young Nigerians.”
The new Bill establishes a board to oversee the management of the scheme. Members of the board are to drawn from the relevant ministries, regulatory bodies, and participating agencies, including the Federal Ministries of Finance and Education, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, National Identity Management Commission, National Universities Commission, National Board of Technical Education and National Commission of Colleges of Education as well as representatives of universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, students and the organised private sector. In addition, a management committee is to be put in place to be headed by a Managing Director and Executive Directors responsible for the management and operations of the fund. Unlike the principal act which gives the CBN Governor power of appointing those to manage the scheme, the new law will bestow such powers on the President, while also properly defining its resource structure.
It seeks to establish a General Reserve Fund – into which shall be paid one per cent of all taxes, levies and duties collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service and accruing to the benefit of the Federal Government . However, one question that was not addressed is whether state governments would be expected to contribute to the fund. It has also not addressed the issue of whether students of state-owned institutions and private institutions would be eligible to benefit from the scheme. It has also not addressed how much a student can apply for and how many times they can do that. It rather provided a blanket instruction: “to 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.”
The amendment effected a lot of changes to the eligibility criteria one of which is the removal of the family income threshold. This, according to the government, is to allow students apply for the loan and accept responsibility for repayment according to the Fund’s guidelines. Also, the requirement of a level 12 officer or a lawyer of 10 years standing is to be removed to allow the students can apply for and receive loan subject to application and identity verification guidelines as provided by the fund. In addition, applicant will no longer be disqualified based on their parent’s loan history.
But students will stand disqualified if there is evidence that such a student is a beneficiary of any education loan or scholarship scheme from the state and Federal Government or from any of its agencies. They can also lose benefiting from the loan if found guilty of misconduct such as plagiarism, examination malpractice, cultism, use of hard drugs and violence as well as defaulting in any previous students loan.
Unlike the principal act which states categorically that the loan be used for tuition, the amendment will allow students apply for loan to cover tuition and other fees payable to the school and maintenance allowance payable to the student. They are expected to start repayment of the loan as soon as the beneficiary becomes employed in any capacity or start making money, while the fund is not expected to initiate loan recovery efforts until two years after the completion of the National Youth Service programme by the beneficiary. However, unlike in the principal act, beneficiary can 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. It, however, warned that any 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, while the scheme makes provision for loan forgiveness in the event of death or any act causing inability to repay.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio said for the scheme to succeed,the amendment was imperative.
He said: “This act now a Bill before us is to clean up whatever lapses found in the principal act and it is to the credit of Bola Ahmed Tinubu that he is the one that signed the students loan bill into law and he has asked us to repeal and re-enact another one that will be in line with the vision. This is to strengthen implementation, ensure sustainability of this programme. But it must not be lost on us that a lot of children have been lured into criminality as a result of lack of support. With provisions like this, I believe that lawmakers will collate would-be recipients from their constituencies and forward them to the appropriate authority so that they can obtain quality education.”
Other lawmakers spoke on the significance of the amendment.
House Leader, Julius Ihonbvere, said the provisions of the Bill is as a result of the proactive spirit of the President to address the biting and high cost of higher education. He stated that he as a student, was a beneficiary of student loans and it made his educational pursuits easier.
He stressed the importance of the Bill in ensuring higher education, vocational training as well as skills acquisition for students. He sought members support for the educational development for all Nigerians seeking higher education.
Teerser Ugboh, who led an adhoc committee to investigate obstacles before the implementation of the scheme, hailed the amendment being sought, describing it as a veritable tool for the development of the higher education system. He praised the provisions of the Bill for ensuring the children of people with lean means or self-sponsored students get the opportunity for proper higher education.
In his contribution, Inuwa Garba, thanked Tinubu for considering the amendment to the act which he said had direct impact and would ensure students get qualitative education.
Minority Leader of the House, Kingsley Chinda, said the Bill represented what youths have been clamouring for. He stated that the existing Higher Education Act has not been able to take off due to some procedural challenges. He added that the challenges would be addressed speedily.
Philip Agbese called for mechanisms to be put in place to ensure that no region of the country is left out.
The Bill was voted on, approved for second reading and referred to the House Committee on Student Loans for Higher Education and Colleges.Just like in the House, it passed second reading in the Senate swiftly with senators supporting its amendment.
Senator Victor Ume said providing access to funding for the education of youths was very critical. He said most of the pressure received from young people centred around the need for them to get proper education, but funding remained a barrier.
He said: “Most times, we are overburdened to create funds to support these young children.
I have been running an education support programme and I know the pressure I receive from the young people. This is a very novel thing to do. It is done everywhere around the world. In America and the UK, students get access to loans to fund access to education and research. When they graduate, they start paying back when they are employed. If we can do that in Nigeria and run it efficiently, we will be contributing towards enhancing the skills and educational development of our young generation. Based on that, I support wholeheartedly that this bill be given expeditious passage.”
While Sen. Ekong Sampson said the amendment was timely and will address a number of concerns of the youths, Sen. Anthony Ani said the major problem in this country has always been availability of funds and that is why some persons are out of school. He said the scheme should provide a very good platform for people who wouldn’t have had the opportunity of gaining higher education to do that.
Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, Senators Abba Moro, Peter Oyeka, Neda Imasuen, Solomon Olamilekan, Sadiq Umar and Sani Musa also spoke in favour of the Bill saying it will give access to indigent students to get education.
They noted that it demonstrated the President’s passion to develop education in the country.
