President Bola Tinubu has directed the management of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to extend the interest-free loan initiative to Nigerian students interested in skill-development programmes.
The President issued this directive at the State House on Monday after a briefing from the Executive Secretary of the intervention programme, Akintunde Sawyerr, a statement by the president’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, said.
The statement added that the implementation of the loan begins “later this month.”
The statement reads in part: “The President said it is important for the scheme to accommodate those who may not want to pursue university education, noting that skill acquisition is as important as obtaining undergraduate and graduate academic qualifications.
“This is not an exclusive programme. It is catering to all of our young people. Young Nigerians are gifted in different areas. This is not only for those who want to be doctors, lawyers, and accountants. It is also for those who aspire to use their skilled and trained hands to build our nation. In accordance with this, I have instructed NELFUND to explore all opportunities to inculcate skill-development programmes because not everybody wants to go through a full university education.”
It quoted Mr Tinubu as emphasising the need for equity and inclusivity in the management of the programme, adding that there is no compromise in his government’s commitment to the disadvantaged citizens of Nigeria.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Mr Sawyerr promised a loan application process with limited human interface.
Technology to drive initiative
The statement said he also told the president that the process would be technology-driven, and would eliminate any possibility of maladministration in the programme.
“By design, this is a perpetual programme and will not terminate. The funds, earmarked for bonafide Nigerian students, will be disbursed directly to the institutions in the initial phase through electronic transfer. Our students will be catered to in a way that bypasses human interference through the full utilisation of available technological platforms, in adherence to Your Excellency’s stated objectives,” the statement quoted him as saying.
He said NELFUND has developed a robust risk-mitigation mechanism to address potential risks that may arise from the programme.
Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, said funding sources have been made available to ensure the smooth take-off and sustenance of the programme.
“Mr President is permanently solving the problem of funding for education in Nigeria. By the directive of the President, the Education Tax Fund is being reviewed to additionally cater to the needs of our university students across all local government areas in the country as they seek to access vocational and traditional university education. Funding for the programme will be adequately covered,” he said.
About NELFUND
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is the creation of the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023.
The Act, popularly known as the Student Loan Law, seeks to provide loans for indigent Nigerian students to pay fees in any Nigerian tertiary institution.
NELFUND is the body created by the Act to handle all loan requests, grants, disbursement and recuperation of the loans provided.
The Fund, according to the Act, is to be funded from multiple streams and will engage in other productive activities.
Its sources of funding as dictated by the Act include; one per cent of all profits accruing to the federal government from oil and other minerals; one per cent of taxes, levies and duties accruing to the federal government from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigerian Customs Service (NCS); education bonds and education endowment fund schemes.
It would also be funded through donations, gifts, grants, endowment and revenue accruing to the fund from any other source, according to the Act.
Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe
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