Students Loan Scheme Launch Indefinitely Postponed By FG

Eko Hot Blog reports that the Federal Government has indefinitely postponed the launch of the highly anticipated Nigerian Student Loan Scheme.

This announcement was made by Akintunde Sawyer, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday.

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“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,” Sawyer stated.

The Students Loan Scheme, proposed by former Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, was initially signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023. The scheme aimed to provide interest-free loans to Nigerians for higher education, with an initial launch timeline of September to October 2023.

However, the launch was subsequently postponed to January 2024 after missing the October deadline. During that time, the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, had announced that preparations for the program, including the creation of a dedicated website and planning for its implementation, were complete.

President Tinubu had also assured leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) that the program would commence once additional features, such as vocational studies, were incorporated.

The indefinite postponement comes as a surprise, merely 48 hours before the scheduled launch. Sawyer cited the need for corrections and aligning all stakeholders as the primary reasons for the delay.

The Nigerian Students Loan Scheme was widely anticipated as a significant initiative to provide financial assistance to students pursuing higher education in the country.

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Its postponement has raised concerns among stakeholders, who had placed high hopes on the program’s potential to alleviate the financial burden faced by many Nigerian students and their families.

As the Federal Government works to address the issues surrounding the launch, students, educational institutions, and the general public await further updates on the revised timeline for the implementation of this long-awaited scheme.

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