• Captures 271,000 beneficiaries since inception
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has offered reasons why postgraduate students are ineligible for the student loan scheme of the Federal Government.
On a live programme at the weekend, the Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, explained that the project’s primary focus was on supporting students pursuing their first degree. He, however, offered a glimmer of hope for post-graduate students, indicating that they might be eligible for the facility in the future.
His words: “Postgraduate students can’t apply for this loan. We have a lot of people in this country who are just trying to get on the first rung of the ladder as far as tertiary education is concerned. The funds we have are focused on those people who are looking for their first opportunity.
“We do have plans for them (postgraduate students), but they are not our priority currently. Our priority currently is those who are leaving secondary school, and dropping out because they can’t afford to go to university. That’s our focus. We want to stop people from exiting the system post-secondary school. We also want to stop people from dropping out (in) 200 Level, 300 Level, 400 Level because of lack of money. That’s our focus for now. Let’s rescue these guys first. We will get to those who are a little bit better endowed educationally.”
The MD revealed that more than 271,000 Nigerian students pursuing tertiary education have received a financial lifeline through the programme since its launch in May 2024.
According to Sawyerr, as of Saturday, March 22, out of 521,000 students who have registered for the loan, approximately 438,000 have submitted their applications.
He added: “Nigerian students are reacting extremely positively to the initiative. And as more disbursements happen, they are becoming more trusting. I think one of the interesting things going on at the moment is that President Bola Tinubu is restoring trust in the government. The students are receiving it well.”
We are transparent about what we are doing.
“In total, to date, we have about 271,000 Nigerian students who have either had their fees paid or their fees plus upkeep.
“The way the President has set this up, and the way he has insisted that this must work is that you don’t need to know anybody to access this loan. And that’s what we are doing. No connections, no long leg, no man-know-man. We are not going to allow it to happen. The President wants us to completely democratise education.”
Although repayments have not yet been received, the Managing Director assured that the Fund was developing a robust repayment structure to facilitate timely and effective loan repayments.(Guardian)
