Members of the House of Representatives on Thursday showered encomium on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing into law the bill for an Act to establish Students Loan and access to higher education in Nigeria.
The lawmakers expressed delight over the development during the debate on the motion on ‘Urgent need for further Legislative Action on Students Loans and Access to Higher Education in Nigeria,’ sponsored by Hon. Terseer Ugbor.
In the bid to ensure effective implementation of the legislation, the House resolved to constitute an Ad-hoc Committee to convene a Legislative Summit on Students Loan and Access to Higher Education with all stakeholders in the education sector and policymakers in order to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the programme and to report within 3 weeks for further legislative action.
In his lead debate, Hon. Ugbor said: “The House notes that while financial support from family members and relatives is often considered a traditional source for funding higher education globally, recent trends in the past 60 years indicate that governments in both developed and developing countries have in place various Students Loans and Educational Credit Schemes to enable students to borrow towards the funding of higher education.
“The House is aware that the use of Students Loans and Educational Credit Schemes in most countries of the world is often justified on the grounds that it guarantees greater access to higher education for the less privileged citizens and is further predicated on the notion that education is an investment in human capital which in turn promotes individual development, economic growth and national productivity.
“The House is also aware that after several years of unsuccessful attempts by successive administrations to introduce student loans, scholarships and other educational credit schemes, the 9th National Assembly passed the Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Bill, 2023 which was recently signed into law by the President to provide the legal and institutional framework for implementation of a Students Loan Scheme in the country.
“The House observes that the while the objectives and intendment of the Students Loans (Access to HigherÂ
Education) Act, 2023 are patriotic and would impact positive access to higher education in Nigeria especially amongst the underprivileged citizens, there are several critical omissions and identifiable bottlenecks that would stultify or frustrate the successful implementation of the Act if immediate further legislative action is not taken to ensure its efficient implementation.
“The House is concerned that while the intendment of the Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2023 is highly commendable and its enactment has been well received by a large segment of the general public, particularly the Nigerian youths, the identified and observable lapses have the potential to frustrate its smooth implementation for the overall benefit of Nigerian students.
“The House is cognizant of the urgent need to convene a legislative summit with all key stakeholders to develop a strategy to ensure the smooth implementation of the Act for the benefit of the indigent Nigerian Students.”Â
The lawmakers also commended the 9th National Assembly for the foresight and passage of the bill which seeks to ensure that a legal and institutional framework for the implementation of a Student loans programme is finally put in place in Nigeria.
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