THE Senate, on Wednesday, March 20, passed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, following its scrutiny of the report of the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, which reviewed the Bill.
The report was tendered before the lawmakers by the Chairman of the Committee, Muntari Dandutse (APC-Katsina South).
President Bola Tinubu had last week introduced the Bill to the Senate for consideration and passage and the lawmakers hurried its hearing by suspending relevant elements of its Standing Rules and referring it to the Committee of the Whole for consideration.
Following a debate on the Bill, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, sent it to the standing Committee for further legislative action, with a one-week report deadline.
The Bill proposes to offer destitute Nigerians simple access to higher education through interest-free loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which was established by the Act, to ensure education for all Nigerians.
Many were worried that the policy would not improve access to tertiary education in the country, as advocated by the government, with some of them describing it as a smokescreen to take education out of the reach of the poor.
