The Senate has passed the Student Loans Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, following the consideration of a report from the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).
The bill aims to enhance the implementation of the Higher Education Student Loan Scheme by addressing various challenges related to the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF), applicant eligibility requirements, loan purpose, funding sources, and disbursement and repayment procedures.
The passage of the bill comes after President Bola Tinubu’s request to repeal the existing Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Bill and enact a new one.
This action follows the temporary suspension of the commencement of the student loan system, which was designed to allow Nigerian students in tertiary institutions to access low-interest loans to complete their studies.
Additionally, the Senate debated a motion sponsored by Sen. Adebule Oluranti, representing Lagos West, compelling the need to address the challenge of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Sen. Oluranti highlighted the importance of reducing the current number of out-of-school children, estimated at 20 million according to UNESCO statistics.
During the debate, lawmakers like Sen. Oshiomhole emphasized the need to publish the percentage of out-of-school children in each state to hold defaulting state governments accountable. In its resolution, the Senate called for the establishment of mobile courts by the judiciary in all 36 states to enforce the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act.
Additionally, the Senate mandated its committee on education to engage with the Ministry of Education to reduce the number of out-of-school children and set a two-year time limit for the implementation of the UBE Act.
