Student Loan Scheme to Kick-off March 2024
The Federal Government says its long-awaited student loan scheme will be implemented this month.
Tinubu initially announced the take-off of the scheme in October 2023 and later shifted it to September 2024 and January this year.
Executive secretary of the National Student Loan Fund, Dr. Akintunde Sawyer said they are putting in place necessary structures for the proper implementation of the loan scheme.
Sawyer speaking in an interview with the news agency of Nigeria, said the registration portal would be advertised widely so that applicants would be able to register for the loan.
He explained that beneficiaries who secured jobs two years after their national youth service year are expected to start replaying the loan with 10 percent of their salaries.
For those without jobs, sawyer said the scheme would allow them to secure jobs before they started paying with a deduction of ten percent of their salaries by their employers.
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Sawyer explained even those who seek to travel out of the country after graduation would be allowed to do so because the scheme has a register of the beneficiaries.
In January, Yusuf Sununu, Minister of State for Education, confirmed at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, while speaking to reporters, that preparations were completed for the scheme to begin, including the finalization of the Student Loan scheme website and the conclusion of technical plans to facilitate the scheme’s kick-off.
President Tinubu assured the leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) when they visited him at the State House, Abuja, that the scheme would begin once its expansion to accommodate extra features including vocational studies was done.
Last week, Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, held an inaugural meeting with the special committee to oversee the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), charging members to work towards the smooth take-off of the scheme on Monday, February 26.
