The Federal Government has postponed the launch of the Nigerian Students Loan Scheme indefinitely.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,
Akintunde Sawyer, made this known during an interview with ARISE NEWS on
Tuesday.
In June 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed a bill to start a
Students Loan Fund that would give interest-free loans to Nigerians for higher
education.
A former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi
Gbajabiamila, proposed the bill and it was supposed to start between September
and October 2023.
Meanwhile, Tinubu said the programme would begin in January
2024, after missing the October deadline.
In January, Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu,
said at a meeting that preparations for the program were finished. This
included making the Student Loan Scheme website and planning how to start the
programme.
Also, Tinubu told leaders of the National Association of
Nigerian Students that the programme would start once they added more features,
like vocational studies.
However, barely 48 hours before the launch, Sawyer said the
loan scheme was postponed due to some corrections that were being made around
the launch.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to commit to a specific
date. We are sort of waiting to ensure that all the stakeholders are aligned to
make sure that nobody is blindsided, then we can actually roll this out in a
meaningful, comprehensive, wholesome and sustainable way,” he said.