By Afolabi Samuel Odunayo
There has been low turnouts of students from southern Nigeria in the application for student loan, Dr. Akintunde Sawyerr, Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), has revealed.
The Managing director identified doubts about the program’s viability to be the reason.
He made this statement while addressing State House correspondents shortly after the launch of the loan disbursement programme by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.
Sawyerr noted that students from northern Nigeria have shown higher participation, which he attributed to better coordination by tertiary institutions in that region.
“In the southern part of the country, there’s growing awareness and interest, but also a lot of skepticism. The South questions everything: is it true? Is it real? Is it a scam?” he explained.
He emphasized that the commencement of the disbursement program aims to dispel these doubts.
“Today’s disbursement proves that ‘this is not NO FUND. This is NELFUND,’” Sawyerr stated, while commending northern institutions for their proactive support in assisting students and providing necessary data.
Despite the initial skepticism, Sawyerr expressed optimism that awareness efforts in the South would possibly lead to increased acceptance of the loan scheme.
He also highlighted the fact that university students have shown the highest demand for the loans, followed by polytechnic and college of education students., respectively.
“In terms of the three levels of institutions, the universities are the ones with the highest demand for the loans, then I think it’s followed by the polytechnics and then the teacher training colleges and I think it’s probably going to remain that way, the bias is going to remain that way,” the Managing Director said.
Praising President Tinubu for his vision and courage in implementing the scheme, he added:”Fortune favors the brave, and this courageous move will benefit the entire nation.”
Recall that in April 2024, Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024, into law.
The new legislation replaces the Student Loan Act of 2023, which seeks to address previous challenges related to governance, loan purpose, eligibility, application methods, repayment provisions, and loan recovery.
