Student Loan Scheme To Commence January 2024, Says Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu says the implementation of the student loan initiative will commence in January 2024.

Tinubu, who was speaking in Abuja during the National Economic Summit 2023 on Monday, assured Nigerian students that the era of incessant strikes would be a thing of the past.

“By January 2024, the new student loan must commence. To the future of our children and students, we are saying no more strikes,” he said.

In celebration of June 12,  President Tinubu signed into law the student loan bill, a promise he made during his campaign.

Femi Gbajabiamila, the former Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives and current Chief of Staff to the President, sponsored the bill, which makes it simple for needy Nigerians to access higher education 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.

The action on Monday comes days after Tinubu waived the “no-work, no pay policy” that the previous administration had imposed on Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) members.

The varsity lecturers had embarked on an eight-month strike to press home their demands, including poor funding of schools.

At Monday’s event,  Tinubu also demanded improvements to the welfare of the legal system and civil service.

While pointing out that these reforms will eventually pay off, the president acknowledged the pain that the subsidy effect causes.

“We have felt the pain of these reforms; soon we shall begin to reap the rewards,” he added

“If you don’t change and plan the welfare of your judiciary and you ask them to be fair — render justice with passion with a hungry stomach. New and affordable homes will also be built at a record pace, I assure you.”