LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration’s Student Loan Scheme will benefit over 1.2 million young Nigerians in its first batch.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) Mr. Akintunde Sawyer, said the commencement of the program, authorised by President Tinubu on April 3, is expected to begin “anytime soon.”Ā
The ambitious initiative will be financed with one percent of the total annual revenue collectible by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). This year, FIRS has been tasked with a revenue target of N19.4 trillion.
If the agency meets this target, N194 billion will be allocated as loans to eligible students. Repayment, as stipulated by the law, will begin two years after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The NELFUND CEO confirmed that everything is ready for tertiary institution students to begin registering and applying for the loan scheme.
He said: āWe donāt expect to have more than 1.2 million students in the first instance.
āAs time goes on, there will probably be expansion.
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āFor the successful applicants, we will be paying their fees ā the full amount ā directly to the institutions.
āThere will also be a stipend paid to the individuals.
āAt a regular interval, the beneficiaries will receive an amount of money for their upkeep so that they can do the basic things ā feeding, photocopying handouts and data.
āThey can use the stipend to ensure that there is enough opportunity for them to survive the experience of being students.
āWe all know that studentsā survival is on another level.ā
Prospective beneficiaries must provide their Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) numbers, National Identification Number (NIN), and Bank Verification Number (BVN), along with other necessary details, to qualify for the loan application.
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He reiterated that current students applying for the loan must also provide their matriculation details along with the stated requirements.
He reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring that the scheme benefits as many interested students as possible
āWithout a doubt, President Tinubu intends to ensure that as many Nigerians as possible get this opportunity.
āThat is why he has vigorously pursued this opportunity on behalf of students.
āThat is why all of us must join hands to ensure that capacity expansion can happen.
āThis is not going to be an elitist programme. It is a programme that is going to drag as many people into the education net as possible.
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āThat is what the President intends and that is what we are going to do,ā he said.
President Tinubu has consistently expressed his commitment to preventing Nigerian students from dropping out of tertiary institutions due to financial constraints.
He expressed gratitude to the National Assembly for swiftly passing the bill, which he signed into law. The Senate and the House of Representatives approved the bill in just three legislative days.