Unpacking The Student Loan [Access To Higher Education] Act 2023

By Arome Abu

PURPOSE

The Act provides that the loan advanced shall be for payment of tuition fees only, and does not cover for other physiological needs.

ELIGIBILITY

An applicant for a student loan must meet the following conditions:

• Must be a student in a higher institution;
• The institution must be a Public/Government Institution such as University, Polytechnic or College of Education;
• The annual income of the applicant’s family must be less than N500,000.00 (five hundred thousand Naira);
• Applicant must provide at least two guarantors who must not be less than level 12 in the civil service, a lawyer of at least 10 years post-call experience, a judicial officer or a Justice of Peace;

DISQUALIFICATION

The following persons are disqualified from accessing the loan:

• A person, proven to have defaulted on any previous loan;
• A person who has been found guilty of examination malpractice;
• A person who has been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty;
• A person who has been convicted of a drug-related offence;
• A person whose parent has defaulted in respect of a student loan granted to him/her in the past.

DISCRIMINATION

Gender, religion, tribe, position or disability are not qualifying/disqualifying factors for the grant of a student loan.

THE BANK

The Act creates the Nigerian Education Bank, empowered to administer the disbursement of the loan;

INTEREST

The loan is interest-free.

APPLICATION FOR THE LOAN

An applicant for the loan cannot approach the Bank directly, but must apply through his/her institution through the student affairs office.

DISBURSEMENT

• The loan shall be disbursed within 30 days of application

REPAYMENT

• Beneficiaries are required to commence repayment of the loan, two years after completion of their NYSC program;
• Repayment is done by direct deduction of 10% of the beneficiary’s monthly salary at source, by the employer and remitted to the prescribed account.
• Where the beneficiary is self-employed after completion of the NYSC program, he is required to remit 10% of his total monthly profit to the student loan account.

REGULATION

The Minister of Education is empowered to make regulations to complement the Act.

Arome Abu is the managing partner of The Counsel L-P

+234 (0) 8032 622359

+44 (0) 7840 786042

abuarome@thecounsellp@gmail.com

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