After Several Postponements, FG Finally Defers Student Loan Scheme Indefinitely

Presidency blames logistics for delay

After shifting the date for the launch of the much-awaited student loan scheme several times, the federal government has finally deferred the implementation of the programme indefinitely, citing the need to ensure all stakeholders are on the same page on the scheme.

Speaking on Arise Television, THISDAY's broadcast arm, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyer, said the launch of the scheme which would have taken place today (Thursday) had been postponed till further notice.

President Bola Tinubu had a few days after taking over the reins of government on May 29, signed the bill which seeks to give interest-free loans to interested Nigerians for their higher education.

First expected to kick off between September and October 2023, the commencement of the programme was initially postponed, even after the president said it would later begin in January 2024, after missing the earlier October deadline.

But in January, the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, said at a meeting that the scheme was set to kick off, with just a few ‘i's remaining to be dotted.

Next, Tinubu told leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) that the programme would start once more features like vocational studies were incorporated.

But Sawyer, in what looked like a U-turn, during the interview, said that the launch had been postponed as there were some ‘corrections' that were being made around the launch of the programme.

He said: “Unfortunately, I won't be able to commit to a specific date. We are sort of waiting to ensure that all the stakeholders are aligned to make sure that nobody is blindsided.

“Then we can actually roll this out in a meaningful, comprehensive, wholesome and sustainable way. One thing that I will commit to is that this is a well-intended project.

“President Bola Tinubu means well around this and absolutely wants this rolled out as fast as possible, and we're working very hard to help realise that.”

Stressing that the process is technically driven and necessary measures needed to be put in place for proper execution, Sawyer said that the pre-launch activities had reached an advanced stage, explaining that March 14 wasn't feasible.

Explaining how the scheme works, the executive secretary said: “It's supposed to be for institutional fees. So, there are lots of fees that get charged once a student is in a tertiary institution.

“In terms of the amount available, it would be 100 per cent of whatever the course that they are studying is. So, this is for public tertiary institutions, and the objective is to be able to cover the cost of their institutional fees in total.” Sawyer added that although the law proposes that those who earn up to N500,00 per annum would not be eligible, given the current economic situation, that clause may need to be reviewed.

“The law itself says families who earn above N500,000 per annum would not be eligible. Now clearly, that is not a reasonable proposition given the current climate.

“So, we're looking very closely at that to ensure that we can actually capture, in the process, those who earn more than that but are still in very difficult situations when it comes to paying institutional fees at tertiary level.

“So, even if we're able to determine who is earning less than half a million naira, and those who are earning above that, it is still a net that isn't fully finalised. And we are looking at that very closely to ensure that through guidelines, regulations, and possible amendments to the law itself, we can make this a more comprehensive, wide coverage law,” he added.

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