Tinubu says Student Loan Scheme will take off in January 2024

The Federal Government Student Loan will now take off as from January 2024.

President Bola Tinubu at the 29TH Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) in Abuja on Monday said the loan must kick off in January 2024.

He said the student loan would end the era of strike by lecturers in federal universities.

Tinubu also at the convocation ceremony of the University of Ilorin on Monday, proposed the public-private partnership model for the funding of federal universities.

According to the president, the right mix of public and private fund would provide the resources they desperately require.

He said that was why he signed the student loan bill into law to change the landscape of public universities.

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“By January 2024, the new Students Loan Programme must commence. To the future of our children and students we’re saying no more strikes.

“There must be consumer credit, scheme will have to come to effect as soon as possible. I thank my team and my colleagues to build this programme, develop it now. We cannot talk about anti-corruption when you have to look for cash to buy a car, when there’s no mortgage for homeownership,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Dr Tahir Mamman, said the student loan would be administered by the Central Bank of Nigeria through the loan board.

When asked shortly before the start of Monday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, Mamman told our correspondent: “The scheme is being facilitated by the CBN and some agencies under my ministry with the office of the Chief of Staff to the President (Femi Gbajabiamila).”

Each student, he said, would get the earlier announced N500,000. The exact number of beneficiaries is not known.  Mamman said, “They (applicants) will be treated based on the number of those who registered.”

Tinubu stressed on the need to immediately initiate a sustainable credit scheme, which, according to him, will aid an effective anti-corruption campaign.