The President Bola Tinubu-led federal government has received accolades from the National Association of Edo State Students (NAESS) for the Student Loan Act.
However, the association is advocating for a reassessment of the minimum family income for beneficiaries, proposing it be decreased from N500,000 to N300,000.
Comrade Stepping Atemonokhai, the National President of the association, made a statement urging the federal government to speed up the implementation of palliatives to help common Nigerians cope with the consequences of petrol subsidy removal.
The statement partly reads, ‘We will want to appreciate and applaud the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander in Chief of the armed forces, His Excellency President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, for signing the Higher Education Loan Act, popularly known as Student Loan Act. It is a right step in the right direction for the rapid development of our education sector and encourages Nigerians to push their dreams.’
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His words: ‘The Act which is to help indigent Nigerian students gain access to interest-free loans. I will admonish the federal government to make the following adjustment on the student loan act: By reducing the applicant or family income from #500,000 to #300,000 and it is with high hope that free education will be a reality in Nigeria, create jobs for Nigerian student after graduation, to help in the payment of this loan.’
‘Also, we will want to plead with the Federal Government to fasten up the provision of palliative measures to cushion the effect of subsidy removal on Students. The cost of transportation and food are really telling on the narrow pocket of Nigerian students.’
The student loan bill, championed by President Bola Tinubu, was been officially signed into law earlier, providing interest-free education loans to Nigerians desiring to attend tertiary institutions.
Passed as the students’ loan Act, the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023, establishes an Education Loan Fund to assist Nigerians in financing their higher education.
Beneficiaries are expected to start repaying the loans in instalments two years after completing their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.