On Monday, President Bola Tinubu signed a bill creating an education bank to provide interest-free loans to Nigerian students.
On Monday, Mr Tinubu’s assistant Dele Alake told state house correspondents that he approved the bill.
The outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, presented the bill in 2016 to address tertiary education financing shortfalls.
After serving as Nigeria’s green chamber speaker, Mr Gbajabiamila will become Mr Tinubu’s Chief of Staff on Wednesday.
The bill is titled “An Act to Offer Easy Access to Higher Education For Nigerians Through Interest-Free Loans From Nigeria Education Bank Created in this Act with a View to Providing Education for All Nigerians and for Related Matters.”
In his All Progressives Congress presidential manifesto, Mr Tinubu pledged to establish an education bank to improve tertiary education.
“We will pilot student loans…
“This would increase education access for all Nigerians,” he stated in Renewed Hope. This will allow schools to charge more cost-effective tuition. Due to employment rates and other factors, the loan programme will have a maximum student borrowing limit and flexible payback provisions.”
Basic education, from primary through junior secondary, is free and mandatory in public schools in Nigeria.
Public schools are underfunded but use tables, chalk, and infrastructure to charge parents.
Public tertiary institutions have long stated tuition is free, although various charges are implemented to supplement Nigerian government subsidies.
Although education is on the concurrent list in the constitution, many of the 36 federation states have implemented tuition in their tertiary schools, which many students find prohibitive.
School funding
Poor funding has led to frequent education sector strikes, according to stakeholders.
Education budgeted N1.08 trillion in 2023. The UN Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization recommends a 15 per cent minimum spending for developing countries, yet this is only 5.3 per cent of the N20.5 trillion budget (UNESCO).
Mr. Tinubu believes that with the education bank, Nigerians who want higher education may afford the fees that colleges may eventually charge.
