A member of the House of Representatives, Isiaka Gboyega, has said that the government exempted students from private universities and other tertiary education from the student loan scheme because of the high cost of school fees in those schools.
Mr Gboyega, the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education and Student Loans, said the school fees of a student in private school could pay the fees of many in public school.
It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu signed the student loan bill on Wednesday, which excludes private school students.
“An applicant for a loan under this Act must – be a citizen of Nigeria;
“Have secured admission into any university, polytechnic, college of education established by the Federal Government or State Government, or a vocational or skills acquisition school licensed by the Federal Government,” section 23 of the Act reads.
Speaking on the exclusion of the private schools, Mr Gboyega said “For anyone that has the capacity to send his/her children to where—some of those private schools, you would agree with me that the need for a loan of this scheme is probably minimal.”
He explained that in the future, the fund could be extended to cover students in the private schools.
