…Explains requirements
The Federal Government on Monday said that the Student Loan Scheme recently initiated would have as one of its sources of funding, the three percent Education Tax under the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The new Tertiary Education Tax (TET) rate of three percent of assessable profits came into effect in 2023. This is as the Student Loan Scheme is scheduled for launch any moment as plans are concluded for its take-off.
Zacch Adedeji, FIRS chairman, stated this while briefing State House journalists, alongside Akintunde Sawyerr, the executive secretary of the Student Loan Board, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Adedeji said the deployment of the education tax fund into the scheme was one way the government could be accountable to taxpayers in the country.
Sawyerr, on his part, assured that the process for applying for the loan would be devoid of human intervention, as every action would be taken on an app specifically designed for the purpose.
He explained that the government was keen on ensuring that young Nigerians do not fail to acquire tertiary education due to the lack of funds.
According to him, the implementation of the student loan scheme would enable Nigerians pick a career trajectory of their choice rather than being forced to do something else because they were unable to acquire the requisite education due to lack of funds.
Sawyer also affirmed that the loan would help to stem the dangerous journey undertaken by Nigerian youth across the Sahel to Europe in search of a better life.
The executive secretary disclosed that the school fees for successful applicants would be transferred directly to their institutions, noting that while every Nigerian was eligible to apply for the loan, only the neediest would be supported.
He said the team was at the State House to brief the president on the impending launch of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which is the bedrock that will operationalise the student loan scheme in Nigeria.
Sawyerr, while explaining that the idea was well thought out, noted that “In applying for this loan, there is zero human intervention. In other words, there is an app. The applicant will go on to a portal, they will engage with that app. They will have to put in certain pieces of information that made them eligible, such as their JAMB number, and of course, they tie into that, their date of birth.
“Further pieces of information include things like their national identity number, NIN, which confirms that they are Nigerians. This loan scheme is being paid for by Nigerian taxpayers. So, it’s for Nigerians and the NIN that help verify and qualify them as such.
Other requirements include the bank verification number (BVN) and their financial inclusion, because this scheme in itself will at some point, be able to empower students
“So, we need to know they have bank accounts. We need to know where their accounts are to be able to access those accounts. It will also have their matriculation number and admission number so that we can firmly establish which institution they are going to.”
