How President Tinubu’s Students Loan Initiative Would Die

• President Tinubu has been commended for signing the student loan bill into law so that Nigerian students can have access to interest-free loans to fund their education
• However, in an interview with Legit, Biodun Oloyede, an author of several books.ng, expressed concerns about the sustainability of the initiative
• Oloyede said it would be difficult for students’ beneficiaries to repay the loan because of the lack of jobs in the country

Osogbo, Osun – The student loan bill signed into act by President Bola Tinubu soon after he came into power has been welcomed with mixed feelings from stakeholders across the country.

Biodun Oloyede, an academic and writer, in an interview with Legit.ng, worried that the initiative might not live long to sustain its primary objective of making funds accessible to Nigerian students.

Details of President Tinubu’s student’s loan bill

Earlier in June, President Tinubu signed the students’ loan bill into law to give Nigerian students access to interest-free loans and repay them after their academic years in higher institutions.

Since the signing of the bill, many federal institutions have increased the amount of fees paid by students, with many sighting current realities as the cause of their actions.

Many educationists have commended the development, while mixed reactions have followed the sudden increment in the amount students will now have to pay.

Why students may not be able to repay loans

In his reaction, Oloyede believed the move was a welcome development but expressed worries on how the government would retrieve the money back from the students after graduating, considering the country’s unemployment rate.

The academic lamented that Nigeria has a poor job environment, and beneficiary might not find it easy to repay their loans after graduating.

He said:

“On student loan bills, I believe it can work. However, how the government would retrieve the loan after is a serious point. The job environment in Nigeria is poor. You graduate, and there’s no work. So returning the loan could be a big problem and kill the initiative.”

Source: Legit.ng