BREAKING: Tinubu effectively kicks off student loan scheme in Aso Rock

By Doris Isreal Ijeoma Following a mild amendment to the Student Loan Scheme, the Federal Government has effectively commenced the programme. As of the time of filing this brief report, the President, Bola Tinubu is currently inaugurating a presidential committee to drive the Scheme at the State House, Abuja. To kick start the programme, the President had recently approved ₦35 billion to be disbursed through specific criteria by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFund, targeting 70,000 initial applicants. Jim Ovia who was appointed by Tinubu to Chair the Governing Board of NELFund had approved the disbursement of loans to successful applicants during its inaugural meeting in Abuja last month. At the inauguration currently taking place in the Villa, Tinubu is expected to give the implementation team terms of reference to ensure the scheme does not derail from its mandate. Details later…

FG Lists 36 State Universities That Can Apply For Students’ Loan 

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) on Sunday announced that approval has been given to students from state-owned tertiary institutions to access the federal government loan. NELFUND, in a statement on Sunday via its official X account, listed 36 state-owned tertiary institutions that can now apply for student loans. The statement disclosed that the management of these institutions have successfully submitted their student data to the NELFUND Student Verification System (SVS). It also urged all other state-owned tertiary institutions to submit their complete student data to the NELFUND Student Verification System timely to enable their students benefit from the scheme. Below are the institutions that can now apply. 1. Adamawa State University, Mubi 2. Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri 3. Borno State University 4. Mohammet Lawan college of Agriculture, Borno State 5. Edo State University, Uzairue 6. Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti 7. Gombe State University 8. Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University, Imo State 9. Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Umuagwo 10. Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria 11. Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano 12. Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina 13. Katsina State Institute of Technology and Management 14. Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero 15. Confluence University of Science and Technology, Kogi state 16. Lagos state university of education 17. Lagos State University 18. Nasarawa State University, Keffi 19. Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun state 20. University of Medical Sciences, Ondo 21. Osun State University 22. UNIVERSITY OF ILESA, OSUN STATE 23. GTC, ARA Osun State 24. GTC, GBONGAN Osun State 25. GTC, IJEBU-JESA Osun State 26. GTC, ILE-IFE Osun State 27. GTC, INISA Osun State 28. GTC, IWO Osun State 29. GTC,OSU Osun State 30. GTC, OTAN AYEGBAJU Osun State 31. OSUN STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, ILA-ORANGUN 32. GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE ILE-IFE 33. OSUN STATE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY 34. Taraba State University, Jalingo 35. Umar Suleiman College of Education, Gashua, Yobe State 36. Zamfara State University, Talata Mafara. It would be recalled that NELFUND had previously announced that students of state-owned institutions would not be able to access loans on the platform yet.

FG Announces New Date For Students’ Loan Take-Off

The Nigerian government has officially declared a revised date for the commencement of the Access to Higher Education Act, often referred to as the Students Loan Law, which was recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in June. The legislation has faced substantial criticism from many Nigerians who fear it could pave the way for the introduction of tuition fees in the country’s tertiary institutions. Despite initial plans for implementation to begin in September, the timeline was not realized.  However, President Bola Tinubu, speaking at the 29th National Economic Summit on Monday, confirmed that the student loan program is now set to kick off in January 2024. Tinubu said the loan programme “must commence” in January 2024. The announcement comes in the midst of ongoing debates and concerns surrounding the law. Further details regarding the program’s structure and execution are anticipated as the implementation date approaches.