President Bola Tinubu has approved the removal of all restrictions on the student loan to make it available to any student or household that may desire it.
Dele Alake, the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, announced this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Mr Tinubu said this was in line with his promise to ensure that no Nigerian student abandons their educational pursuits due to the inadequate finances of their parents.
Similarly, Mr Tinubu directed the authorities in all Federal tertiary institutions to avoid arbitrary increases in various fees payable and, where possible, defer further increases to ease parents’ difficulties.
The president also said efforts are in place to ensure that vulnerable students can also benefit from conditional cash transfers and food distribution.
To ease the burden of the fuel subsidy removal on students, Mr Tinubu approved the provision of buses to the student bodies of all universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education nationwide.
The president said this was to see that students could access their campuses easily due to higher transportation costs.
The provision of buses will also remove the burden of the additional costs of daily commuting from parents and guardians.
Mr Tinubu saluted Nigerian students’ courage, wisdom, and partnership as the country navigates this challenging time.
He pledged to continue prioritising education, the needs of the students, the welfare of both teaching and non-academic staff, and infrastructure investment in institutions of higher learning to make them more globally competitive.