The Nigerian Federal Government said the Students’ Loan Scheme will be fully automated when fully operational in a matter of days.
The Executive Secretary of the Students Loans Board, Dr Akintunde Sawyerr, made this disclosure while speaking with newsmen shortly after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja on Monday. He stressed that the scheme will be fully automated, with an affirmation of zero human intervention in the application and processing of the loan by applicants. According to him, a specified portal has been dedicated to the scheme to eliminate human intrusion adding that the Loans Act seeks to bridge the gap between the desire to study and the capacity of students to further their education.
“The intention behind it is to ensure that the reason for not being able to go on and further your education at a tertiary level is not for the lack of finance. This law seeks to bridge the gap between the desire to study and the capacity to go further. It seeks to bridge that gap that is created by lack of finance, and lack of funding. So, this is a great opportunity for that applicant, and they are the ones that are at the centre of all of this.”
Commenting on the salient opportunities provided by the Student Loan Act, Sawyerr explained that the program prioritises intending students in teacher training programs and vocational skills.
“The program provides opportunities for Nigerian students who want to go into onto the academic side and get a university degree or perhaps want to go into the technical side and go and acquire some vocational skills and some vocational qualifications which are always needed in society, and also in the teacher training space.”
On the procedure for application, the Executive Secretary explained that the application will be carried out online through a specified submission link. He said applicants will have to submit certain information that qualifies them for the loan which includes the JAMB registration number, Date of Birth, National Identification Number, and Biometric Verification Number, among others.
