By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) said it has recorded over 9.5 million visits to its office from students in federal tertiary institutions, regarding the student loan since it opened its portal a week ago.
According to the Managing Director of the fund, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, the fund has also received over 6,000 applications regarding the loan, adding that over 90 per cent of federal tertiary institutions have submitted the data of their students with about five institutions remaining.
He also revealed that in three weeks, the fund would democratise the loans following the outcry from students in state-owned tertiary institutions, thereby opening its portal for students in state institutions to apply for the loan.
Mr Sawyerr urged the authorities of the state tertiary institutions to begin to submit the data of its students to ensure that the process is seamless.
Recall that on June 12, 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023 into law to enable indigent students to access interest-free loans for their educational pursuits in any Nigerian tertiary institution.
The move was in “fulfilment of one of his campaign promises to liberalise funding of education,” a member of the then Presidential Strategy Team, Dele Alake, said.
The Act, popularly known as the Students Loan Law, also established NELFUND to process all loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery.
Although the government initially announced that the scheme would be launched in September, it suffered several delays leading to an indefinite postponement in early March.
President Bola Tinubu also directed the fund to extend interest-free loans to Nigerian students interested in skill-development programmes.
President Tinubu based his decision on the need for the scheme to accommodate those who may not want to pursue a university education, noting that skill acquisition is as essential as obtaining undergraduate and graduate academic qualifications.
“This is not an exclusive programme. It is catering to all of our young people. Young Nigerians are gifted in different areas.
“This is not only for those who want to be doctors, lawyers, and accountants. It is also for those who aspire to use their skilled and trained hands to build our nation.
“In accordance with this, I have instructed NELFUND to explore all opportunities to inculcate skill-development programmes because not everybody wants to go through a full university education,” he said.
Modupe Gbadeyanka