During an ongoing press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyerr, revealed that students of state government institutions will also benefit from the government education loan scheme. This extension of the scheme is expected to be implemented within the next three weeks, Sawyerr stated.
Since its launch, the website of the student loan fund has garnered over 60,000 visitors, indicating significant interest and demand for educational financing support.
Sawyerr further highlighted that the majority of federal institutions, approximately 90%, have already submitted their lists of students for consideration, with only two federal universities and two federal polytechnics remaining to do so.
The Access to Higher Education Act, 2023, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on June 12, 2023, paved the way for this initiative. It aims to provide interest-free loans to indigent students across Nigerian tertiary institutions, fulfilling a campaign promise by President Tinubu to enhance educational funding accessibility.
The Act, commonly referred to as the Students Loan Law, established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, tasked with processing loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery procedures.
Initially scheduled for launch in September, the scheme faced multiple delays, ultimately leading to an indefinite postponement in early March. This delay was attributed to Tinubu's directive to expand the scheme's scope 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, President Tinubu instructed the Fund to extend interest-free loans to Nigerian students interested in skill development programs.
President Bola Tinubu emphasized the importance of accommodating individuals opting for skill acquisition alongside traditional academic pursuits, underscoring the significance of both pathways in national development.
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