“Stop increasing school fees”- President Tinubu orders tertiary institutions

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered federal tertiary institutions across the country to immediately desist from increasing students’ school fees.

The president in a statement issued by his special adviser on Communication and strategy said, the order was aimed at ensuring that parents and students don’t face too many difficulties in paying their fees while in the face of hardship occasioned by lack of money and economic circumstances in the country.

The President’s special adviser also revealed that his principal has approved the removal of all restrictions on the students’ loan to ensure it is easily accessible by students.

The statement read;

“In line with his promise to ensure no Nigerian student abandons his or her educational pursuits as a result of lack of money and economic circumstances of their parents, President Tinubu has also approved the removal of all restrictions on the students’ loan to make it available to any student or household that may desire it.

“Similarly, President Tinubu has directed the authorities in all Federal Institutions of higher learning to avoid an arbitrary increase in sundry fees payable and where possible defer further increase so that parents and students don’t face too many difficulties.

“While it is important to reiterate that President Tinubu has directed the release of over 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains to families in 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the government is working to ensure that vulnerable students can also benefit from conditional cash transfers and food distribution.

“The federal government salutes the courage, wisdom and partnership of Nigerian Students as our country navigates this challenging time.

“President Tinubu will continue to prioritise education and the needs of the students, improve welfare of teaching and non academic staff and invest in infrastructure to make our institutions of higher learning become more globally competitive.”

Recall that prior to the announcement, the students loan scheme which was recently accented to by the Senate and passed into law, had a myriad of criteria that must be met before being accessed by students.

Upon passing the bill into law, Nigerians had reacted with cold feet as many thought it was impossible to access the students loan despite acknowledging that it was a positive idea.

But the removal of the restrictions would hopefully bring a sigh of relief to students as prior to the removal of all restrictions, candidates who wished to apply for the students loan were mandated to apply to the Chairman of the Bank through their respective institutions upon satisfaction of the following conditions:

• Have secured admission into any public Nigerian University, P, polytechnic, COE, or TVET school
• Applicant income or family income must be less than N500,000 per annum;
• Applicant must provide at least two civil servants as guarantors: of not less than level 12 years in service; or a Lawyer with at least 10 years post-call experience; aJudicial officer; or a Justice of Peace
• Students who have defaulted on previous loans; found guilty of exam malpractice, felony, or drug offenses will not be considered.
• Students with parents who have defaulted on previous loans will not be considered.
• All Applications will be submitted through the Students Affairs Office of each Institution via a list of all qualified applicants from the institution, accompanied by a cover letter signed by the Vice Chancellor, Rector, or head of the institution and student affairs.
• Any beneficiary of the loan to which this Act refers shall commence repayment two years after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps program.
• Repayment shall be by direct deduction of 10% of the beneficiaries’ salary at source by the employer.Where the beneficiary is self-emself-employed all remit 10% of his total profit monthly to the students’ loan account to be prescribed by the bank.