By Adesina Wahab
About a year after setting up the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, it has so far disbursed over N73.2 billion to 396,000 students across the country under the student loan programme.
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Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this during a media engagement in Abuja. He explained that the disbursed amount comprised N38.3 billion for tuition fees and N34.9 billion for upkeep allowances. He noted that students from 206 tertiary institutions across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, have so far benefited from the scheme.
Speaking further, he explained: “Since we opened our application portal in May 2024, we have made remarkable progress that is both measurable and meaningful. Over 645,692 applications have been received from eligible students across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Tuition and upkeep loans have been successfully disbursed to more than 396,252 students, many of whom are first-generation students in tertiary institutions.
“We have deployed a fully digital transparent loan portal built to global standards to ensure seamless processing, tracking and verification. We expanded our framework to include students in technical and vocational training institutions, aligning with our national development and skills development goals. We responded rapidly to issues around digital wallet and banking limitations by enabling account updates and migrating disbursements to commercial bank accounts.
“Behind each of these numbers are real people, young Nigerians whose dreams were once delayed or denied by circumstance, but who now carry a renewed sense of possibility,” he said.
Sawyerr,who said the agency had encountered issues with some institutional data integrity, delays in verification processes and widespread misinformation, added: ”Yet, through it all, we have remained steadfast, improving our systems, engaging directly with applicants, training institutional focal points and responding swiftly to tickets, concerns and grievances.
“The establishment of NELFUND is a direct result of that vision, a vision that places Nigerian youth at the heart of national development.
“Our mandate is clear, to democratize access to higher education and skills development through sustainable financing. It is a bold mandate and comes with immense expectations. But it also comes with hope. Hope for the market woman whose daughter dreams of becoming a doctor. Hope for the young man from a rural community who aspires to build software solutions that can change the world. And hope for families across Nigeria who simply want their children to have a better chance,” he added.
It is commendable —NANS
Assessing the performance of the fund, the National Public Relations Officer of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Comrade Adeyemi Samson Ajasa, said the establishment of the fund has been a game changer.
“ It has been a great deal. When it was set up, there was nothing like that. It has really helped many students to settle their tuition fees, get upkeep allowances and make them stay focused on their academic activities.
“Yes, like most human activities, there were some challenges and they were overcome. They are tackling the issue of low response from some parts of the country and we, as student leaders, are also helping in the area of sensitisation. The results from those who have benefitted are spurring others to come on board.
“We also appreciate the direct meetings of NELFUND officials with students across campuses. That is good and commendable as they afford students the opportunities to bare their minds on how each tertiary institution is handling the disbursement of the money.
“The idea of setting up job portals to link up graduating students with employers is good too. It has been a great development in the education sector,” he said.
States should emulate NELFUND —NAPTAN boss
Speaking on the development, the Chairman, Board of Trustees, National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, described the coming and performance of the Fund as commendable.
“They have really done well in the last one year. I give kudos to them. They have done well and it is one of the finest things to happen to the tertiary education sector in the country. I will urge states to also set up State Education Loans Fund, SELFUND. Doing that would help more indigent students and even anyone who desires to benefit to do so.
“The setting up of job portal too is a welcome development. The Managing Director of the Fund, Akintunde Sawyerr has been a thorough professional and he should be commended for doing a great job with his colleagues,” he said.
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