Over 9,500,000 Student Loan Applicants Visit NELFUND

The Nigerian education loan fund (NELFUND) said it has recorded over 9,500,000 visits to its office from students in federal tertiary institutions, with respect to the student loan since the student loan application portal was launched last week Friday.

The Nigerian education loan fund (NELFUND) has also received over six thousand applications regarding the student loan.

While briefing the press at a post-application launch conference on Thursday, the Managing Director of The Nigerian education loan fund (NELFUND), Dr. Akintunde Sawyerr, said over 90 per cent of federal tertiary institutions have submitted the data of their students with about five institutions remaining.

Dr. Akintunde Sawyerr also disclosed that in three weeks, the Nigerian education loan fund (NELFUND) would democratise the student loans following the outburst from students in state-owned tertiary institutions, thereby opening its student loan application portal for students in state institutions to apply for the student loan.

Dr. Akintunde 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.

On June 12, 2023, President Bola Ahmed 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,” according to Presidential Strategy Team, Dele Alake.

The Act, popularly known as the Students Loan Law, also established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to process all loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery.

Although the government initially announced that the student loan scheme would be launched in September, it suffered several delays leading to an indefinite postponement in early March.

The Presidency had linked the delay to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to expand the student loan scheme to include student loans for vocational skills.

After receiving a briefing from the NELFUND team led by the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, on January 22, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed the Nigerian education loan fund (NELFUND) to extend interest-free loans to Nigerian students interested in skill-development programmes.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu based his decision on the need for the student loan 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,” President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said.

Source: https://www.channelstv.com/2024/05/30/student-loan-applications-hit-6000-in-seven-days-says-nelfund/