After Several Postponements, FG Finally Defers Student Loan Scheme Indefinitely

•Presidency blames logistics for delay

Deji Elumoye and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

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.

According to him, the government expects from the scheme the opportunity for students, the applicants, sometime during the month to begin to put in their applications to be able to access the loan.

“This then gives them access if they are successful to tertiary institutions in Nigeria to go and study the courses of their choice which they have been accepted for,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the presidency yesterday explained that NELFUND initially billed for launch on Thursday by Tinubu was postponed due to logistics reasons.

Reacting to the issue while speaking with newsmen after this week’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held at the State House, Abuja, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the postponement was necessitated by the need to plan the programme better.

Providing additional explanation for the postponement of the launch, Onanuga said: “There’ll be a new date to launch the student loan scheme, it’s not forgotten. There are some things that need to be rearranged so that it can be launched properly.

“I think that’s what’s happening. So the president’s committed to it, you know it’s one of his flagship programmes and he wants to get it done as quickly as possible”.

Also speaking on the issue, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, recalled that Tinubu had planned out other people-oriented policies and programmes, like the introduction of social security and consumer credit programmes that are also being prepared for launch.

Idris, who explained that the various programmes are being taken together, said: “In addition to that, you know that the president has also introduced the issue of social security and consumer credit. We mentioned that in the last press briefing we had.

“So all these are being taken together and Mr. President is not stopping or suspending the students’ loan. Indeed, he’s ensuring that it comes about strongly so that Nigerians and especially the families of the less privileged, take advantage of that so that they can get education.”

The student loan bill was sponsored by Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the immediate-past Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Chief of Staff to the president.