Victor Ezeja
AdminSeventy-two hours after waving aside the ‘no-work, no pay policy’ imposed by the previous administration on members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), President Bola Tinubu on Monday disclosed that the Student Loan Scheme will kick off as from January 2024.
This was as he promised an end to episodes of industrial actions by staff unions in the country’s tertiary institutions. “By January 2024, the new Students Loan Programme must commence. To the future of our children and students we’re saying no more strikes,” he said.
Tinubu spoke while declaring open the 29th session of the annual Nigeria Economic Summit at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. The NES is anchored by the non-profit think-tank, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
The President elaborated on his administration’s plans to stabilise the economy through the collaboration of all stakeholders, particularly the private sector, and harped on the need to initiate a sustainable credit scheme which would aid an effective anti-corruption campaign
Prime Business Africa recalls that during the celebration of Democracy Day on June 12, President Tinubu signed into law the student loan bill in fulfillment of the promise he made during his campaign.
The bill, sponsored by the Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, now Chief of Staff to the President, provides easy access to higher education for indigent Nigerians through interest-free loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
The funds for the programme will be domiciled in the Ministry of Education and will only be accessed by indigent students of tertiary institutions.
Speaking on the need to immediately institute a sustainable credit scheme that would facilitate an effective anti-corruption campaign, the President said, “there must be consumer credit, the scheme will have to come into effect as soon as possible.
“I thank my team and my colleagues for building this programme, develop it now. We cannot talk about anti-corruption when you have to look for cash to buy a car when there’s no mortgage for homeownership,” Tinubu said.
Meanwhile, the waiver allows for the previously striking members of ASUU to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months of salary which was withheld during the last eight-month strike undertaken by the union.
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