FG boosts student loan fund to record N100b 

The Federal Government has injected an additional N50 billion into the student loan programme, bringing the total funds available for 2024 to a record N100 billion.

This comes as the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has expressed concern over poor sensitisation of the scheme.

The Guardian reports that while the government budgeted the sum of N50 billion for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) in the 2024 appropriation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) injected an additional N50 billion recovered from crimes into the Fund, in compliance with a A order.

It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had, in his nationwide broadcast in the wake of the #EndBadGovernance protests, ordered the release of N50 billion for the scheme.

He added that N45.6 billion has already been processed for payment to students and their respective institutions, stating: “I ordered the release of an additional N50 billion… for NELFUND – the student loan… from the proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC.”

READ ALSO: NELFUND approves N2.5b student loan, benefits 22,120 students

So far, the Fund has released over N2.026 billion as institutional fees to six tertiary institutions nationwide, met with heads of institutions at the recent JAMB Policy Meeting, and further disbursed N407.4 million as July stipends to 20,371 students, each receiving N20,000.

While NELFUND disbursed the fees directly to the institutions, the agency paid the stipends directly to the applicants.

The six institutions include the University of Ibadan, Bayero University Kano, University of Ilorin, University of Benin, University of Maiduguri, and Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State.

Leading his management team to the corporate headquarters of the EFCC on Tuesday in Abuja, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, appreciated the anti-graft agency for the N50 billion injected into the Fund.

While acknowledging NELFUND’s positive impact on the education of indigent students, Sawyerr deplored the years of neglect that have hindered youths’ educational advancement.

“The youths constitute the most populous, restive, but neglected segment of our population. President Tinubu identified this as a major problem and put in place a major solution to address the issue,” he said.

Applauding the Commission’s move, the NELFUND boss requested EFCC’s oversight, assuring transparent and efficient use of funds.

In line with his electoral promise that no Nigerian student would drop out of school on account of lack of funds, President Bola Tinubu had in April this year signed into law the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024.

Managed by NELFUND, the cardinal programme seeks to address the challenge of financial constraints in accessing higher education by providing interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions struggling to pay fees as well as a monthly stipend of N20,000.

Stakeholders say by bridging the financial gap for disadvantaged students and those from low-income backgrounds struggling to finance their education, the scheme offers a lifeline to students who would otherwise be priced out of higher education, enabling them to pursue their academic dreams without being forced to abandon their studies or, in desperate cases, resort to taking their own lives.

While a 2019 survey by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) revealed that 35.4 percent of students in tertiary institutions dropped out due to financial constraints, another study published in the Journal of Education and Practice (2020) reported that 42.1 percent of students in Nigerian polytechnics dropped out due to financial difficulties.

Similarly, a study published in the Journal of Mental Health and Social Behaviour (2020) reported that 22.9 percent of Nigerian university students experienced suicidal ideation even as 12.6 percent attempted suicide. “Financial difficulties and academic stress were significant predictors of suicidal behaviour,” the report indicated.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has expressed concern over poor sensitisation of the scheme.

NANS President, Lucky Emonefe, who spoke with The Guardian, accused the NELFUND leadership of being nonchalant on the issue of sensitisation.

Emonefe disclosed that while only 6 percent of students in the South-South are aware of the programme, the level of awareness in the South East is just 10 percent.

He expressed worry that four months after the President assented to the bill, management of the Fund is yet to reach out to the grassroots, adding that commencing disbursement before sensitisation is like putting the cart before the horse.

“On the area of sensitisation, NELFUND has not been living up to expectations. Some of our students are in the dark. They need to be properly sensitised because it is President Tinubu’s initiative for people to have access to education. So the management of NELFUND needs to step up.

“We have equally reached out to them on the sensitisation of our students. They have been paying a deaf ear. Even when we met with the President, we told him we want to begin sensitisation during the launch recently. But I don’t see the reasons why the sensitisation has not kickstarted. Students are calling me every day on the issue. We want to reach out to them. Sensitisation is the most important part of the scheme. The students will not only be aware but also know the President’s genuine intentions. But the management is slippery over it.

“It’s not just a student loan. Are people aware? In the South-South, it is just 6 percent, in the South East it is 10 percent, while some other regions are over 36 percent. It is not just having the money in the bank, but we want Nigerian students to be aware. Some even see it as a scam till today. And NANS is willing to come out to do this but NELFUND Management is slow towards that,” he said.

Also speaking, the Initiator, Creative Change Centre, Omole Ibukun said, “The N100 billion would work better in funding affordable education in line with the needs assessment of Nigerian tertiary institutions. The government is giving to students with one hand and taking it back with the other, in the form of increased school fees across the country.”

When contacted, the Fund’s Director of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, said it is planning a sensitisation and awareness event.

She, however, did not state when it would commence.