Student Loan: House Of Reps Warns Tertiary Institutions Against Increase In Tuition Fees

The House of Representatives has urged public tertiary institutions in the country not to take advantage of the introduction of the Students Loans Act to increase tuition fees.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by Hon. Terseer Ugbor (PDP, Delta State) at plenary on Thursday.

Ugbor stated that the use of students loans and educational credit schemes in most countries of the world was often justified on the grounds that it guarantees greater access to higher education for the less privileged citizens.

He noted that while the objectives and intention of the Students Loans Act, 2023, were patriotic, there were several critical omissions and identifiable bottlenecks that would frustrate the successful implementation of the Act if immediate further legislative action is not taken to ensure its efficient implementation.

“The House notes that while financial support from family members and relatives is often considered a traditional source for funding higher education globally, recent trends in the past sixty years indicate that governments in both developed and developing countries have in place various Students loan and Educational Credit Schemes to enable students to borrow towards the funding of higher education,” he said.

The lawmaker, however, commended the passage and signing of the bill into law after several years of unsuccessful attempts by successive administrations to introduce students loans, scholarships and other educational credit schemes.

The House while adopting the motion resolved to constitute an Adhoc Committee to convene a Legislative summit on students loans and access to higher education with all stakeholders in the education sector.