How to get student loan in Nigeria

A student loan is a facility that affords the student the ability to pay for room and board, personal living expenses, stationaries, and other academic costs while attending a higher institution. A student that has financial difficulty can apply for the loan provided they meet the requirements for a student loan. Many needy students are not aware it exists, and those that know cannot get it because they do not know how to process the loan.

In this post, we will examine how to get student loan in Nigeria without collateral. We will give a brief history of Nigeria education loan, requirements for the loan, how to process it, loan amount, and repayment terms. Also, we will cover other loan sources and conditions.  Let us start this tutorial now.

 

History of the Education Loan

Many Nigerian parents see education as a way of lifting their children above their poor financial status. In 1972, the Government established “The Nigerian Students Loans Board.” This body was to provide loans for eligible Nigerians to fund undergraduate and graduate studies in Nigeria and abroad.

According to a report by jstor.org, this Board disbursed the sum of N46 million from 1973 to 1991. Recovery of the loans has been difficult, and as a result, the Government replaced the Board with “Nigerian Education Bank.”

This new organization provides advisory services for educational purposes and supervises disbursing the loans for professional studies like Architecture, Law, Medicine, and Accountancy, among other duties.

 

Nigeria education bank loan requirements

Eligibility Conditions

Applicants must be Nigerian students pursuing an accredited program in approved higher Institutions of learning, accepted by the National Council for Higher Education.

Advertisement of the Available Loan

The Nigerian Students Loans Board will make an official advertisement in a prime national newspaper asking eligible students to apply to the Board within a given time for the loans or scholarships.

 

How to get student loan in Nigeria without collateral

Follow these steps to get Student Loan in Nigeria:

Calculate how much you need

To get a student loan, you must know how much loan you need, where to get it, and the documents for processing the loan and assemble them.

Find out required Documents

You must collate these documents below for student loan in Nigeria, this is mainly for Nigeria Education Bank loan, for other lenders, keep reading the articles. They include:

• Names, age, birth certificate, marital status, and sex
• Academic records – admission letter
• A form of identification, three recent passport photos, and a copy of fees from the Institution
• The Course of study, duration, start date, and end date.
• Bank account and depositing of N2,000 as a processing fee  (for Nigeria Education bank loan)
• Submit the name of the banker of your Institution (which is usually Nigeria Education bank.)

Please note that requirements will vary among different lenders

Study terms and Conditions

Find out the amount of loan, purpose, conditions of the loan, and repayment terms.

• Loan Amount: It ranges between N24,000 to N32,000. Or any high amount higher than this
• Purpose: Living expenses, stationaries, and other school expenses
• Period of Loan: This varies depending on the number of years for the Course of each applicant.
• Repayment: Usually two years after completing your studies

Most of these will depend on lender.

Approach a lender

Go to a commercial bank of your choice. These banks are associates of the Nigerian education bank. Find out the requirements for opening an account and other information you need to get the student loan in Nigeria without collateral.

Next, open your account with the bank and deposit the sum of N2,000 as a processing fee for the student loan. That is if you want the Nigerian Education bank loan.

Submit your Student Loan application

• Go to the Dean of Students Affairs of your University, collect the loan application form, and fill it
• Attach all needed documents, and make all payments required
• Submit your application to the Student’s Loan Taskforce in the Dean’s office.

Wait for the processing and approval of student loan application

Wait for a response from the Nigeria Students Loans Board. During processing:

• If you did not fill the application form correctly, you would get an email, SMS, or a telephone call from the Operations Unit of the loans Board to amend it.
• Ministry of Education will publish the names of successful candidates in a national newspaper. Your name will also be in a list on the Ministry’s website, and you will receive a letter informing you of the amount allocated to you.
• You will be assigned a student loan identification number, issued Identification cards, and the loan proceeds forwarded to the Nigerian education bank for disbursing to your bank.

The above steps is for the Nigeria Education bank loan. You can see other lenders below.

 

Other Places where you can get Students loan without collateral

You can get a loan from the creative sector initiative and from local banks that provide educational loans. You can find a run down of other loan options below.

 

Creative Sector Loan

Another way to get student loan in Nigeria without collateral is by applying for the creative sector loan. The Federal Government of Nigeria recently established the Creative Sector Loan through a Central Bank of Nigeria initiative.

The aim of the loan is capacity building and creation of employment for individuals and businesses who are currently professionals in specific industries.

Benefits: The loan is low cost and single-digit funding for business and education, with flexible structure and repayment terms and financial advice.

Eligibility: For you to get the Creative Industry loan, your business must meet the following conditions:

• Belong to the creative industry (fashion, music, Movie Production, Movie Distribution,and information technology).
• Have a business duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission
• Present a comprehensive business proposal to the bank of your choice
• Spotless Credit Bureau Report with no unpaid loans to any Commercial bank
• Acceptable Credit risk management system(CRMS) report of owners, sponsors, and the director’s application process.

Documents required for all CIF Loans

• Accepted Offer Letter
• Business Plan
• Board Resolution (if corporate)
• The Creative Sector Loan for Software Engineering Student

See the requirements and steps to get student loans in Nigeria without collateral.

Terms and conditions of the Creative Industry student loan

Here are the terms and conditions for the Software Engineering student loan.

• Interest rate: Maximum Interest rate of 9% per annum for the loan with all charges included.
• Type of loan:Term Loan with a 100% Central Bank of Nigeria funding
• Moratorium:A freeze on repayment for nine months from date of disbursement
• Repayment:Repayment is Monthly after the nine months freeze ends.
• Repayment period: A maximum of 3 years to repay the student loan
• Collateral:Minimum Equity Contribution (0%), University Degree, NYSC Certificate, Credible Guarantor, and Personal Guarantee.

Steps to process the Creative Sector Loan for Software Engineering Student

Step1. Visit any Commercial Bank: Approach any financial institution to make further inquiries about this loan.

Step 2. Requirements to get the CIF student Loan

• You must be a Software Engineering Student.
• The applicant must gain admission into a training organization that has job placement contracts.
• Applicants must not have a bad credit history with Credit risk management system (CRMS) or any commercial bank in Nigeria.
• Apply for preferred areas with low Information Technology penetration.

Step 3. Decide the Amount You need

Research and pick a bank that you like out of the number of commercial banks in the country. You can get up to N3 million student loan without any collateral.

Step 4. Choose a Commercial bank

Visit the bank of your choice and open a bank account for the loan and discuss the other terms with the account officer.

Step 5. Apply for the loan:

If you meet all the requirements above, fill and submit the form with documents to begin the application process, and you will get the loan.

 

Financial Institutions that offer Education loan

Funding for education in Nigeria has not been easy for the Federal Government. So, going to a bank that provides an education loan is a strategy  to get student loan in Nigeria without collateral.

Banks lend money to assist students in paying for their cost of education locally and abroad.  Banks usually grant education loan facilities with varying terms and conditions.

For instance, Standard chartered bank has Smart Credit Educational Loan that offers to lend students up to 10 million, and you repay in 6 years.

Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC has an educational product that provides an international money transfer solution for payment of school fees and allowances abroad.

Zenith Bank and Access bank offers educational loans and personal advances for education.

For example, at Zenith Bank Plc, you can get an educational loan to pay tuition fees. It is a short-term loan with conditions.

GTBank, Acccess and others offer loans to students

1. Features of the Loan

You can get a minimum loan amount of N100,000 and a maximum of N5,000,000. Disbursement of the School fees is direct to the child or a students’ school. The maximum tenor for Junior School is three months and for Tertiary Institution 9 months.

2. Requirements

• Security: Salary account of Parent/guardian in the bank, direct payment of fees to the school. The student or Ward must have an account with the bank.
• Interest rate:  Prevailing commercial lending rate

Steps to process and get the Student Loan in Nigeria from bank

Follow these steps to get a student loan in Nigeria from banks

1. Visit a branch of the bank you have selected.

Decide the amount you need and tell your guardian, or if you have a salary account with the bank, then process it directly. Also, you must have operated the account for at least six months and received salary through the account.

2. Meet Your Account Officer

Ask for the loan application form, fill it, and submit required documents like an invoice or tuition fees, bank statement, and other requirements.

3. Allow the bank Process the loan

After processing your application, you will receive information by email or phone when the loan is approved.

 

Conclusion

This article explored how to get student loans in Nigeria without collateral. You learned how to get a Federal government of Nigeria education loan,  the Creative Sector Loan, and education loans granted by a Commercial bank. Read the terms of the bank loans, which usually have strict short conditions and take the credits you can repay.