School Fees Loans in Nigeria – All You Need to Know

The holidays are upon us and shortly after that, it will be school fees season in Nigeria. As a parent with children of school age, what arrangements are you making to ensure that your wards’ education is not interrupted by a financial crunch? Read on about School Fees Loans in Nigeria- all you need to know.

In Nigeria, school fees loans are still struggling to find their footing, but for many, it has become a way out.

Parents are known to leverage these kinds of offers to stem the pressure that comes with paying school fees, especially after a major holiday like the Christmas season which comes with heavy spending.

By their nature, school fees loan enables parents whose kids or dependents are undergoing different levels of formal education access to funds necessary for the completion of such study.

What is a school fees loan?

School Fees Loans are short-term loans intended to facilitate the prompt payment of school fees by parents and guardians for their children and/or wards’ educational needs.

These kinds of loans go into not just tuition fees, but also other financial needs like uniforms, books, meals, and school buses among others. The loan is structured so that the children’s school must not necessarily have an account with the lending institution for the parents or guardians to access this loan.

School fees loans in Nigeria can be taken upfront for up to 12 months while payment of fees can be spread on a monthly basis. In some cases, the interest rates for school fees loans are also very competitive and varies slightly less than our simple cash loans.

Requirements for school fees loans in Nigeria

The requirements for obtaining a school fees loan in Nigeria sometimes appear tedious but are easily available for serious borrowers.

Some of those requirements may include some or all of the following;

• Application letter
• School fees bill to be provided by the applicant
• For salary earners, applicants must
• Provide a copy of a letter of employment
• Confirmation letter
• Official identity card
• Three months pay slip
• Six months’ salary account bank statement
• Updated signed cheque leaflets or automation of direct debit deduction from salary account
• Two guarantors who are salary earners
• A letter from the borrower’s school
• Tangible Collateral which must be at least 150% of the loan value for a loan value above =N=500,000
• Microinsurance cover.

Getting school fees loans in Nigeria

While school fees loans may not yet be popular in Nigeria as should be expected, several financial institutions are already getting on the train.

Some banks and institutions offering school fees loans in Nigeria are listed below.

1. Wema Bank School Fees Advance

School Fees Advance is a loan facility designed to finance the payment of children’s school fees for schools or institutions in Nigeria and the diaspora.

This loan facility is available to salary-earning and self-employed individuals.

2. Stanbic Unsecured Personal School Fees Loan

For parents or guardians seeking to give their wards an uninterrupted education cycle, Stanbic IBTC offers an unsecured personal loan with zero collateral.

The loan is targeted at meeting the financial needs of parents and guardians looking to pay the school fees for their children or ward in any tier of the education system in Nigeria.

Some of the benefits of the loan include:

• Ease – The process of getting the loan is short and timely
• Accessibility
• Zero-collateral – The loan can be accessed by any parent with
• Flexibility – The loan repayment period can be extended to suit the parent’s need
• Adaptability – The loan caters to all levels of education

3. Access Bank – Advance for School Fees

Advance for School Fees, a product by Access Bank is designed to provide parents/guardians with short–term financing to cover tuition fees for their children/wards. It is also ideal for financing undergraduate and postgraduate studies as well as professional examinations.

4. GTB – School Fees Advance

School Fees Advance is a loan facility from Guaranty Trust Bank designed to finance the payment of school fees for schools or institutions in Nigeria only. This facility is available to members of staff of public and reputable private organizations whose salaries are domiciled with the Bank.

The facility grants up to N5 Million in School Fees Advance with a maximum tenor of four months per request. It also promises competitive interest rates and immediate access to funds for the prompt payment of fees.

5. Zenith Bank – Education Loan

Zenith Bank’s education loan scheme is designed to provide short-term funding to enable parents or guardians to pay tuition fees for their children.

The loan facility offers a minimum amount of N100,000 and a maximum amount of ₦ 5,000,000.

With the loan, the school fees are paid directly to the child’s school. It also comes with a maximum tenor of three months for Junior School and nine months for tertiary institutions.

To acquire the loan, parents need to provide a completed application form, must have a salary account domiciled with the bank and the child must have an account with the bank.

6. Bowen MFB – School Fees Loan

Just like the traditional banks, Bowen is a microfinance bank that also provides parents with access to uninterrupted quality education with convenience.

Its School Fees Loan is available to applicants who are salary earners. The applicants are required to must provide a copy of their letter of employment, confirmation letter, official identity card, three months’ pay slip and six months’ salary account bank statement.

They are also required to provide three undated signed cheque leaflets for the salary account.

The bank offers a maximum loan amount of between 50%  and 70% of the school fees value.

Advantages of school fees loans

As has been established, school fee loans come with a number of advantages.

Some of the benefits of obtaining a school fees loan may include;

• It helps ensure that your children do not miss out on school because of your inability to pay their fees.
• It enables you to cater to your children, or wards other educational needs like uniforms, books and others.
• Taking a school fee loan does not restrict you from accessing other types of loans.
• The interest rate of school fees loans is moderate as compared to other types of loans.
• School fees loans do not require collateral and have flexible repayment terms

Disadvantages of school fees loan

Expectedly, these types of loans also come with one or two disadvantages. For instance, during the period of repaying the school fees loan, depending n your income, you may have to shelve some other necessities.

Also, failure to mean up with the terms of the school fees loan may result in more problems that you were trying to solve.

In addition, one stands the chance of entering into a loan cycle which may be difficult to break.

Lapo Microfinance bank, a provider on nairaCompare offers school fees loans to meet your childresn’s educational needs.