President Tinubu,
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disclosed that over 271,000 Nigerian students in tertiary institutions have benefited from the Federal Government’s Student Loan program since its launch in May 2024.
It also clarified the eligibility criteria, explaining why postgraduate students are currently not qualified to apply for the scheme.
Speaking on TVC’s Breakfast Saturday, NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, provided insights into the progress of the initiative.
According to him, as of Saturday, March 22, approximately 438,000 out of 521,000 registered students have submitted their applications for the loan.
His words: “Nigerian students are reacting extremely positively to the initiative. And as more disbursements happen, they are becoming more trusting. 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, till 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 democratize education.”
While no repayments have been received yet, Sawyerr assured that the Fund is working on a structured repayment system to ensure efficiency.
Addressing the exclusion of postgraduate students, he explained that the scheme is primarily designed to support those pursuing their first degree.
However, he suggested that postgraduate students may be included in the future.
“Post-graduate 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.
“I congratulate those who have graduated who are doing their Master’s or PhDs, it’s fantastic. At some point in the future, we will be able to fund them. Today, we are looking for those who need us most. They are the people we want to support.
“We do have plans for them (post-graduate students) but they are not our priority currently. Our priority currently are 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 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.”
