In a significant development, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that the government’s student loan scheme will be extended to include students from state universities in the next three weeks.
This expansion of the program comes after the successful implementation for federal institutions.
According to Akintunde Sawyerr, the Managing Director of NELFUND, the scheme’s website has already received over 60,000 visitors since its launch. Sawyerr also revealed that more than 90% of federal institutions have submitted the list of eligible students, with only two federal universities and two federal polytechnics yet to do so.
The student loan scheme was established following the signing of the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023 by President Bola Tinubu on June 12, 2023. The Act, popularly known as the Students Loan Law, aims to provide interest-free loans to indigent students pursuing their education in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
Initially, the government had announced the launch of the scheme in September 2023, but it was postponed due to Tinubu’s directive to expand the program to include loans for vocational skills development. After a briefing from the NELFUND team led by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, the President directed the Fund to extend the interest-free loans to Nigerian students interested in skill-development programs.
This move aligns with Tinubu’s vision to accommodate those who may not want to pursue a traditional university education, recognizing that skill acquisition is just as essential as obtaining academic qualifications.
