Nigeria’s National Assembly and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) are moving to expand the national student loan scheme from 1.6 million to 7 million direct beneficiaries. The agreement is presented as part of efforts to increase access to tertiary education and support broader national development. NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, says the scheme has already disbursed N282 billion and directly benefited about 1.6 million students across the country. He also argues that the impact reaches beyond the direct beneficiaries when accounting for household size. The expansion push is announced during a national sensitisation programme on student loans organised by the senate committee on tertiary education and TETFund in collaboration with NELFUND. Speakers emphasise that many eligible Nigerians are not fully aware of the scheme and call for wider public outreach across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. Beyond expanding direct beneficiaries to 7 million, NELFUND indicates it plans to extend the programme to include skills acquisition and technical/vocational education, which it says could ultimately affect a much larger number of Nigerians. Legislative figures describe the sensitisation as timely and framed within oversight aimed at improving equitable access to education.
NASS and NELFUND plan to expand student loan scheme to 7 million beneficiaries
Nigeria’s National Assembly and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) are moving to expand the national student loan scheme from 1.6 million to 7 million direct beneficiaries. The agreement is pr...
- NASS and NELFUND agree to expand Nigeria’s student loan scheme from 1.6 million to 7 million direct beneficiaries.
- NELFUND reports disbursing about N282 billion and directly benefiting about 1.6 million students so far.
- The expansion is announced during a national student loan sensitisation programme involving the senate committee on tertiary education and TETFund.
- Officials say awareness gaps remain, and they plan outreach across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
- NELFUND plans further expansion to skills acquisition and technical/vocational education in addition to tertiary education.
The National Assembly and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) have begun efforts to expand the student loan scheme, with a target of increasing direct beneficiaries from 1.6 million to seven million. The move was announced on Monday at a national sensitisation programme on student loans organised by the senate committee on tertiary education and TETFund in collaboration with NELFund. Akintunde Sawyerr, managing director of NELFund, said the scheme has recorded disbursements of N282 billion and directly benefited 1.6 million students across the country. Sawyerr said the impact of the scheme extends beyond the direct beneficiaries. “Today, 1.6 million Nigerian students have directly benefited from the NELFund scheme,” he said. “If we consider that the average Nigerian family consists of about five people, it means we are directly and indirectly impacting nearly 10 million lives.” Sawyerr said the agency is seeking support from stakeholders to expand the programme to reach more Nigerians. “We are, however, appealing to stakeholders on the need to expand the student loan scheme to target up to 7 million beneficiaries across Nigerian tertiary institutions and vocational centres for the required driving and real national transformation,” he said. Sawyerr added that NELFund plans to expand the programme to include skills acquisition and technical and vocational education, a move he said could ultimately impact about 50 million Nigerians. Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, described the sensitisation campaign as timely, saying many eligible Nigerians are yet to take advantage of the scheme. “No matter how beneficial a programme is, if the intended beneficiaries are not adequately informed about it, its impact will be limited,” he said. “People need to understand what the programme entails and how they can access it. “That is exactly what this sensitisation campaign is all about and should be taken round the entire six geo-political zones.” Ifeoluwa Ehindero, chairman of the house committee on student loans, scholarships and tertiary education financing, said the awareness campaign would deepen public understanding of the opportunities available through the programme. “This sensitisation programme is both timely and important, as it helps create awareness and deepen understanding of the opportunities available to students through the scheme,” he said. “The Fund has recorded the remarkable achievement of reaching over 1.5 million beneficiary students and disbursing more than ₦282 billion to support Nigerian scholars.” Muntari Dandutse, chairman of the senate committee on TETFund, said the programme was part of efforts to ensure equitable access to education for all Nigerians through effective legislative oversight.
15 hours agoThe National Assembly, NASS, on Monday agreed with the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, to expand the student loan scheme from 1.6 million to 7 million direct beneficiaries as part of efforts to drive national transformation. This was even as the Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed that with planned expansion into skills acquisition and technical/vocational […] Student Loan: NASS, NELFUND target 7m direct beneficiaries in scheme expansion
15 hours agoThe National Assembly (NASS) is collaborating with the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to expand the student loan scheme from 1.6 million to 7 million beneficiaries as part of efforts to deepen access to tertiary education and drive national transformation. The post NASS, NELFUND push to expand Student loan beneficiaries to 7m appeared first on Vanguard News.
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