SAHARA REPORTERS
The Nigerian Government under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu has disclosed that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is currently working on strategies to recover loans disbursed to undergraduates in the country.
SaharaReporters reported in June that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said that at least 30,000 students from various tertiary institutions across the country had been selected to benefit from the newly established Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The NELFUND CEO Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr also last week confirmed receiving an additional N50 billion from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and disbursement of N2.9billion as loans for tuition fees to more than 27,000 students across 19 higher education institutions in Nigeria.
But none of these institutions are located in the South-East, while at least one institution from each of the other five geopolitical zones is included.
However, the NELFUND spokesperson, Nasir Ayitogo, who was asked about the exclusion of South-East institutions from the list said that the distribution of funds was not influenced by geopolitical zone considerations.
He explained that only institutions which responded to NELFUND’s verification lists, sent to eligible institutions nationwide, have been included in the disbursement.
Many concerned Nigerians had also raised doubts over the sustainability of the policy, saying there is precise measure put in place by the government to ensure the loan beneficiaries repay them as and when due.
Speaking on Channels TV’s live broadcast on Sunday night, Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman maintained that the policy is a loan and not a grant as many Nigerians speculated.
He said, “At the moment, there are not grants, they are loans. This is the first three months that the loan has taken off. The government is quite conscious of that.
“The government has quite provided for the repayment period. I know NELFUND is already working on the criteria on how to get the funds recovered. The speed at which it started, I believe sooner or later, that part of it(recovery) will also be addressed.”
The minister also ruled out students of private universities from benefitting from the policy.
According to him, “it is only appropriate to agree for now that this loan should be applicable to students in public institutions”.
He said, “The ‘private’ means an element of ability on the parents towards sponsoring their children and if you look at what is available under the loan, is far less than what students pay in private universities -both for tuition and upkeep.
“For now, I see in the foreseeable future that this loan will be only to those in public institutions.”
