The Ad-hoc Committee on Student Loan Fund and Access to Higher Education in Nigeria of the House of Representatives proposes an increase of 3% for the recently announced 1% increase in student loans by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The panel held this view during a public hearing held at the National Assembly to assess the level of progress made thus far by a presidential committee tasked with removing all legal obstacles impeding Nigerian students’ access to the loan.
The Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, the Honorable Terseer Ugboh, has proposed an increase from one percent to three percent of the federation account’s annual revenue.
This, according to him, will enable the Federal Government to achieve its goal of ensuring that every Nigerian student has access to funds to complete his or her education.
For the permanent secretary in the ministry of education and members of the presidential technical committee, significant progress has been made in establishing a legal framework that will govern the implementation of the students loan act.
They also guaranteed that implementation could begin with the next academic year, which will begin between September and November, depending on the institution in question.
Mr. Kofo Alada, member of the presidential technical committee and director of the Legal Service Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, stated that there is a need for adequate budgeting to meet needs.
Legislators and other stakeholders were uncertain about how to persuade states and local governments to make their own contributions to ensure that every Nigerian benefited from the program.