The National Association of Nigerian Students has said it is not realistic to expect beneficiaries of the Federal Government loan scheme to begin repayment two years after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps.
It argued that less than 10 per cent of graduates get absorbed into the labour market within two years post-NYSC.
It, therefore, proposed that the repayment should begin five years after NYSC.
According to The PUNCH, the President of NANS, Lucky Emonele, made the call in Abuja on Monday at a public hearing on the repeal and re-enactment of 2024 Students Loans Access to Higher Education Bill 2024.
The public hearing was organised by the Senate Committee on Education and TETFUND and the House of Representatives Committee on Student Loan, Scholarship and Higher Education Financing.
Emonele commended President Bola Tinubu for responding to the request of NANS, by including its leadership as representatives of the students on the loan board.
He added that the students also commended the decision to repeal the Act to address grey areas that could hinder the success of the student loan scheme.
The NANS President, therefore proposed a minimum of five years repayment duration, given the challenges of unemployment after graduation.
The NANS president also called for the provision of study grants for Nigerian students in the Act seeking to establish the Nigeria Education Loan Fund.
He also appealed that the provision of a loan scheme should not be a further reason for an arbitrary increment of school fees by the management of tertiary institutions.
He urged the National Assembly to pass a resolution that prohibits public tertiary institutions from increasing school fees in the next 10 years.
