As part of his administration’s determination to make education affordable, President Bola Tinubu has approved the removal of all restrictions on student loan.
The decision may not be unconnected with complaints by the public over what they consider as difficult conditions attached to its accessment by interested applicants.
One of the terms is that an applicant must provide at least two guarantors, one of whom should be a civil servant of not less than Grade Level 12. The second must be a lawyer with at least 10 years of post-call experience or a judicial officer or justice of the peace.
The removal of the conditions is contained in a statement yesterday by President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Mr. Dele Alake.
Tinubu according to the statement also approved the provision of buses for “students’ bodies” in all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Tinubu also said that his administration was “working to ensure that vulnerable students can also benefit from conditional cash transfers and food distribution.”.
He warned the authorities of tertiary institutions of learning against arbitrary tuition hikes and “where possible defer further increase.”
The statement partly reads: “In furtherance of his desire to ease the burden of the fuel subsidy removal on students of higher institutions of learning, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the provision of buses to the students’ bodies of all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.
“The desire of the President is to see that students can access their campuses without much difficulty as a result of higher transportation costs.
“The provision of the buses will also remove the burden of additional cost of daily commuting on parents and guardians.
“In line with his promise to ensure no Nigerian student abandons his or her educational pursuits as a result of lack of money and economic circumstances of their parents, President Tinubu has also approved the removal of all restrictions on the students’ loan to make it available to any student or household that may desire it.
“Similarly, President Tinubu has directed the authorities in all Federal Institutions of higher learning to avoid arbitrary increase in sundry fees payable and where possible defer further increase so that parents and students don’t face too many difficulties.
“While it is important to reiterate that President Tinubu has directed release of over 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains to families in 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the government is working to ensure that vulnerable students can also benefit from conditional cash transfers and food distribution.
“The Federal Government salutes the courage, wisdom and partnership of Nigerian students as our country navigates this challenging time.”
“President Tinubu will continue to prioritise education and the needs of the students, improve welfare of teaching and non-academic staff and invest in infrastructure to make our institutions of higher learning become more globally competitive.”
-Thenation
