How to get student loans in Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, June 12, 2023, signed the Student Loan Bill into law. ⁣⁣

The bill will enable students across the country to access loans at interest-free rates.

Below are some lending institutions that offer school fees loans in Nigeria:

Wema Bank School Fees Loan

Wema Bank school fees offers credit facilities to enable customers to pay school fees. The minimum loan amount is N50,000, while the maximum facility amount is N3,000,000. The loan tenure for repayment is three months (For Nursery/Primary/Secondary schools) and maximum tenure of nine months for higher learning.

According to the bank, the school fees will be paid directly to the child/ward’s school, and you need the following to qualify. Completed School Fees Advance application form (obtainable at the bank) Letter of introduction: This is to determine the employment status of the parent/guardian. Then you also need something called an irrevocable letter of domiciliation. This is a letter from the employer, affirming that the parent/guardians’ salary will remain with Wema Bank until the loan is paid.

Access Bank Student Loan

Access bank student loan is one of the major student loans in Nigeria which offers short-term loans to cover school fees for primary, secondary, and tertiary education for students.

The scheme is called the Access Bank Advance for School Fees. The loan repayment is spread over a period of four to six months, and the interest rate is 18 per cent.

To qualify you need a completed application form, a copy of the school fees bill, made out in the name of the child, a valid ID card, and a recent utility bill (with the last three months). If you do not bank with Access Bank you will need a guarantor. The bank will also need to see some proof of the net worth of the guarantor. Then of course a filled application form.

If you are not a salaried employee, you will need to provide documents of your business registration, a one-year business account statement, evidence of treasury bill, or money market investments, and your recent utility bills for both residence and business premises.

LAPO Microfinance Education Loan

LAPO, a microfinance institution that operates in Nigeria, also offers loans to help with the payment of school fees for children of its customers who are in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria only. The loan can be accessed by customers who are members of cooperative unions serviced by the bank

The minimum amount offered is N15,000, while the maximum is N40,000. The loan tenure is eight months, and an additional grace period of 1 month may also be given.

GTBank Student Loan

GTBank student loan, a student loan in Nigeria, is a school fees advance is a loan facility designed to help meet financial obligations towards the payment of your child/ward’s school fees, during times when one may be short of cash. This facility is for schools in Nigeria only and can reach a maximum of N5 million.

According to the bank, the interest rate is very competitive, and the approval process is very fast. But there are a few requirements; you need to submit a completed application form, and then an employer undertaking form. Then they want to see the bill from the school. If you are a business owner, then GTBank wants to see a copy of your company registration documents.

Federal Government Student Loan (Education Loan)

The Federal Government Education Loan is an initiative of the Nigerian government, to help with the process of funding education in the country. The initiative is governed by the education bank and student loan boards and administered by states at concessionary interest rates to allow students easy access to funds.

The government has also approved the establishment of education loan funds which are set up by all states of the federation. By government policy, special emphasis is on funding teacher development and secondary education. There is also a lot of work towards establishing a special intervention fund for individuals with special needs.

To apply for this loan, please visit your local state education board, your state government website, or the Federal Ministry of Education website.

Fidelity Bank Fast Loans

On the website of Fidelity Bank, even though the loan facility is not specifically called a school fees advance, it is stated that the loan can be given to cover a contingent need to pay children’s school fees. Therefore we think that it is worth the shot if one is in need of such funds.

To apply for this loan, just visit the Fidelity Bank website, and go to the consumer loans section. At the bottom of the page, you will see ‘click here to read more.’ When you click on it, you are sent to a page with a registration form that you must complete.

Naturally, such a loan would favor existing customers of the bank, who the bank can vouch for, and who have domiciled their salaries with the bank.

Zenith Bank Student Loan

Zenith Bank student loan is not lagging behind when it comes to providing loans for payment of school fees. The bank also provides short-term loan facilities to parents and guardians to help them pay for the school fees of their children and wards.

The minimum amount is N100,000, while the maximum amount is N5,000,000. Not everybody is eligible for the N5 million loan facility; the bank calculates how much a person can be given based on their credit history.

The bank also wants to see a Completed Application Form, they also require that the parent/guardian must have their salary account domiciled with the bank.

Also, the child/ward must have an account with the bank. Then they want to see the bill from the school.

The bank will then pay the school fees directly to the child/ward’s school. You are expected to pay back the loan between three to nine months.

The Star

Segun Ojo