I had to take a thorough look at the Student Loan Bill that’s just been passed into law causing all the memes and plethora of opinions flying around and here’s a summary or gist of that newly adopted statute:
1. The purport of the Act is to provide access to higher education (post-secondary school education) for Nigerians through interest-free loans. So, it is for Nigerians in Nigerian higher institutions.
2. The loan is to be granted only for tuition fees.
3. The said loan isn’t just accessible to every Tom, Dick, or Harry i.e there are conditions and requirements to be met to determine eligibility.
4. The Nigerian Education Bank has been established to supervise disbursement, receive applications for the said loan, ensure compliance with all terms and requirements, exercise legal rights in recovery of the loan, etc. (you get the gist)
5. The Act creates a governing board to oversee the functions of the Bank. (You can google the membership)
6. Applications for a loan from interested students are to be made to the Chairman of the Bank through their respective schools. (Your school puts the application on your behalf).
7. Before a student can be eligible, these are the requirements: (a)You must have gotten admission into a higher institution. (b) The applicant’s income or family’s income must be 500k annually (so apparently only indigent people are eligible, the poor need to breathe after all)
8. Applicant must provide 2 guarantors, said guarantors must be (a) a civil servant of not less than 12 years in the civil service or a lawyer with at least 10 years post-call experience or a Judicial Officer( justices, judges, etc) or a Justice of Peace.
9. A student/Applicant would not be eligible for the loan where; (a)he has been found guilty of exam malpractice by any school authority, (b) if he has defaulted on any loan previously granted by any organization (palm play), (c)he has been convicted for any drug-related offense, (d)if any of the Applicant’s parents has defaulted in the repayment of any student loan granted to him/her and (e)if he has been convicted of a felony or any offense related to dishonesty or fraud.
10. The application is to be submitted through the Student Affairs Office of the applicant’s school which would compile a list of applicants, include a cover letter from the Vice Chancellor of the school, and then forward the application to the Chairman of the Board of the Bank (apparently applicant’s role is to submit the application to the Student Affairs Office of his/her school.
11. The application is to be accompanied by; the student’s admission letter, and guarantor’s information.
12. Processing and disbursement of the loan is made within 30 days of the application.
13. A beneficiary of the loan is to commence repayment of the said loan after 2 years post NYSC. (Yeah, so move smart, lol)
14. Repayment of the loan is by direct deduction of 10% of the beneficiary’s salary.
15. Where the beneficiary is self-employed, 10% of this total monthly profit would be deducted for repayment of the loan.
16. As a self-employed beneficiary, you are mandated to submit the name of your business, registration documents, location and address, and all other information to the Commission. (Failure to do this within the stipulated time would be deemed an offense punishable by 2 years imprisonment or a fine of 500k or both. lmao.
17. This is a summary, take a look at the law personally or contact a lawyer if you require further information.
What do you think about this Act. Lets hear your thoughts in the comment section.
