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From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The National Assembly and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) have moved to expand the student loan scheme from the current 1.6 million direct beneficiaries to seven million students across tertiary institutions and vocational centres nationwide.
The move, stakeholders said, is aimed at deepening access to education and driving national transformation through increased support for students from low-income backgrounds.
Speaking at a one-day national sensitisation programme on the student loan scheme organised by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund in collaboration with NELFUND yesterday, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, stressed the need to take awareness of the programme to all parts of the country.
He said while the scheme has recorded significant success, many eligible Nigerians are yet to take advantage of it due to inadequate information.
“No matter how beneficial a programme is, if the intended beneficiaries are not adequately informed about it, its impact will be limited.
“People need to understand what the programme entails and how they can access it. That is exactly what this sensitisation campaign is all about and should be taken round the entire six geo-political zones,” Barau said.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Students Loans, Scholarships and Tertiary Education Financing, Ifeoluwa Ehindero, described the sensitisation programme as timely and necessary.
According to him, the initiative has continued to provide opportunities for thousands of Nigerian students who might otherwise have struggled to finance their education.
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“This sensitisation programme is both timely and important, as it helps create awareness and deepen understanding of the opportunities available to students through the scheme.
“The Fund has recorded the remarkable achievement of reaching over 1.5 million beneficiary students and disbursing more than N282 billion to support Nigerian scholars,” he said.
Providing an update on the implementation of the scheme, Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed that 1.6 million Nigerian students have so far benefited directly from the programme, with the impact extending to millions of family members across the country.
“Today, 1.6 million Nigerian students have directly benefited from the NELFUND scheme. If we consider that the average Nigerian family consists of about five people, it means we are directly and indirectly impacting nearly 10 million lives,” he said.
Sawyerr said NELFUND is seeking the support of stakeholders to scale up the programme and extend its reach to about seven million beneficiaries in tertiary institutions and vocational training centres.
He added that the Fund’s long-term plan is to broaden its coverage beyond conventional tertiary education to include skills acquisition, technical education and vocational training, a move he said could ultimately impact as many as 50 million Nigerians.
Earlier in his welcome address, Chairman of the Senate Committee on TETFund, Muntari Dandutse, said the sensitisation programme formed part of the committee’s oversight responsibilities and commitment to ensuring equitable access to education for all Nigerians.
He noted that expanding awareness of the student loan scheme would help more eligible students benefit from the intervention and contribute to national development through education.
