The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has called on the South-South and South East regions to increase their participation in the student loan scheme.
The Managing Director, NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, said this during stakeholders’ engagement session and technical workshop on system automation and the loan application process in Abuja yesterday.
The three-day event, which began yesterday with universities, will continue with polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education in the coming days.
Sawyerr said the gathering was a critical milestone in the collective journey it has embarked upon to deliver a fully digitised, transparent and student-centric financial aid system for Nigerian higher education.
Responding to reports that NELFUND was paying students, who have already graduated, he clarified that the Fund was handling the government and the taxpayers’ money, and no disbursement would be rushed.
“We have to adhere to our processes. If people have already paid the fees in their final year, and we’ve paid their tuition, it is the obligation of those individuals to go to school.
“But to complain that you’ve already graduated and you’ve left, the fact of the matter is people applied in their final year.
“You have to go through a process that allows us to make sure that they are the ones who are actually applying and who actually need it,” he said.
He added that the meeting was intended to influence how the platform evolves and how the fund addresses practical challenges faced by institutions and students alike.
Ifeoluwa Ehindero, Chairman of the House Committee on Students Loan, Scholarships and Higher Education Financing, said for the system to be truly effective, there was need to modernise and streamline how to manage, track and deliver funds to deserving students.
Ehindero said by automating and optimising the NELFUND system, it aimed to create a more transparent, efficient and responsive process for loan applications, approvals and disbursements.
“This is essential for the success of the initiative and it will go a long way in ensuring that our students benefit in a timely and accountable manner.
“As members of the House of Representatives Committee on Student Loans, we have been working tirelessly to ensure that the legislative framework supports and facilitates these reforms. However, legislative efforts alone are not enough.
“We need your expertise, feedback, and active participation to make sure that we have a system that works for everyone from the students applying for the loans to the institutions managing the funds.
“This workshop is not just a platform for training but also an opportunity for collaboration,” she said.
Executive Director of Operations at NELFUND, Mr Iyal Mustapha, earlier disclosed in his presentation that over 576,058 students have registered, with a total application value of ₦170,437,179,836.
He urged institutions in the South East and South South to improve sensitisation efforts for timely loan applications.