The Federal Government has said that student loan recipients who die before they are able to repay their obligations would be free of the debt burden, and their family members will not be held liable for the debt.
The Student Loan Act, signed by President Bola Tinubu on June 12, 2023, states that beneficiaries who are employed would have their payback deducted from their income, while those who are self-employed will pay 10% of their profit as repayment.
Although an inter-ministerial committee has been set up by the government to ensure that the Act is properly refined and that disbursement commences on time for the 2023/2024 academic session, some analysts have expressed worries over the repayment.
For instance, the Academic Staff Union of Universities noted that several schemes in the past failed due to the fact that individuals who obtained the loan failed to repay their debts, preventing others from benefiting from the scheme.
In the 2023 Act, the government already said the loans would only be granted to applicants on condition that there is fund available.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejo, while fielding questions from our correspondent on the matter of repayment, especially for beneficiaries who take the loan but die before repayment said, “The loan is to enable them to finish their education programme and start paying back.
“The loan recovery doesn’t start until you get employed. The issue of death is force majeure. No one plans for death. You cannot wait for their children or their parents to pay. The committee has been given terms of reference, so I don’t know how the committee will play around that but the president has given policy direction.”
On the provision for employment, he said, “The President is a job creator. From his experience in the private sector, he has given policy directions. Job creation is one of the things he will focus on. Jobs will be created. More jobs will be created across all sectors.”