Student loan scheme will cut down migration – Sawyerr  

The Nigerian Government has claimed that the new student loan scheme will be fully automated without any human intervention. The Executive Secretary of the Student Loan Board, Dr. Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed to news today shortly after meeting the President at the State House.

Sawyerr said the aim of the loan is to bridge the gap between the desire to study and the capacity to fund it, adding that such applicants are at the centre of the scheme. 

He emphasised that the government’s intervention through the loan scheme would impact on many Nigerian families, taking away the burden of sponsoring applicants from their parents. He also stated that the scheme covers both academic and vocational skills.

Speaking to newsmen, he said:

“The intention behind it is to ensure that the reason for not being able to 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 finances, and lack of funding. […] The program provides opportunities for Nigerian students who want to go on into the academic side and get a university degree or perhaps want to go into the technical side and acquire some vocational skills and some vocational qualifications which are always needed in society, and also in the teacher training space.”

Sawyerr said applicants will be required to input their details on the portal which would determine if they are Nigerians and qualify to obtain the loan because the scheme is financed by Nigerian taxpayers.

He also revealed that part of the aim of the scheme is to cut down migration of young Nigerians to Europe by bridging the existing education gap in the system. In his words:

“This act is going to enable us to intervene and support families particularly those that are in need. This act will affect the way society itself operates and functions. There are many difficult choices people make. Sometimes, they will have to do things they really don’t want to do including crossing the very treacherous and dangerous Sahel to try and get themselves to Europe because they haven’t been able to get the education they wanted. So you know, we are setting this up to help us and help our society bridge that gap.”

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