President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law.
This development comes after separate considerations by both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the report of the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund.
The bill, which was sponsored by Senator Bamidele Opeyemi, representing the Ekiti Central Senatorial District of Ekiti State, focuses on improving the execution of the Higher Education Student Loan Scheme in Nigeria by tackling issues related to the management structure of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, applicant eligibility criteria, loan purposes, funding sources, and procedures for disbursement and repayment.
Under this Bill, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) would be established as a legal entity with the authority to litigate and be litigated in its own name, and it would possess the power to acquire, hold, and dispose of both movable and immovable property to fulfill its functions.
In essence, the bill enables the Fund to offer loans to eligible Nigerians for their tuition, fees, charges, and living expenses while studying in approved tertiary institutions and vocational training centers in Nigeria.
Additionally, unlike the 2023 Act, which limited loan applications solely to tuition fees, the new bill permits applicants to request loans to cover various institutional charges and maintenance allowances.
