The Nigerian Education Loan Fund’s website has attracted over 60,000 visitors since its launch, according to its Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, who disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
Sawyerr revealed that more than 90% of federal institutions have submitted their student lists, with only two federal universities and two federal polytechnics yet to do so. He also announced that the loan scheme would be extended to students of state universities within the next three weeks.
President Bola Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023, into law on June 12, 2023, to provide interest-free loans for indigent students in Nigerian tertiary institutions. This move fulfilled one of Tinubu’s campaign promises to liberalize education funding, as noted by Dele Alake, a member of the then Presidential Strategy Team.
The Act, commonly known as the Students Loan Law, also established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to handle loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery.
Initially scheduled for a September launch, the scheme faced several delays, leading to an indefinite postponement in early March. The Presidency attributed the delay to Tinubu’s directive to broaden the scheme to include vocational skill loans.
Following a briefing from the NELFUND team, led by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, on January 22, Tinubu instructed the Fund to extend interest-free loans to Nigerian students pursuing skill-development programs. He emphasized the importance of accommodating students who prefer skill acquisition over traditional university education, highlighting the equal significance of vocational skills and academic qualifications.
