The Nigerian Senate has passed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024.
ADULAWO News reports the lawmakers passed the bill following the presentation and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND that considered the Bill.
The chairman of the committee, Senator Muntari Dandutse, presented the report during plenary on Wednesday, March 20.
The Senate had given the Bill accelerated hearing by suspending relevant sections of its standing rules and referred the Bill to the Committee of the Whole for consideration.
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ADULAWO News recall that President Bola Tinubu had last week transmitted the Bill to the National Assembly for its consideration and passage.
The Bill seeks to provide easy access to higher education for indigent Nigerians through interest-free loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund established in the Act to provide education for all Nigerians.
The Federal Government has said a total of N160 billion was budgeted for the Consumer Credit Scheme and implementation of the Student Loan Scheme in the 2024 budget.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, made the disclosure last week Thursday at a press briefing in Abuja.
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He said N100 billion was allocated to a consumer credit scheme to revive the manufacturing sector to provide goods and services to Nigerians and support the capacity of consumers, describing the scheme as a catalytic fund that is expected to grow.
Bagudu also announced that N50 billion and N10 billion have been budgeted in the signed budget and supplementary budget respectively for the student loan scheme.