Encourage Your Children To Take Students Loan, NELFUND Urges Parents

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund), Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, has urged parents to encourage their children to take advantage of the student loan scheme introduced by the Federal Government to enable them acquire tertiary education.

Sawyerr made this appeal during a sensitization visit to Ekiti State, where he addressed traditional rulers and people of the 13 kingdoms in the Moba Local Government area.

He emphasised that President Bola Tinubu is keen on taking the burden of funding tertiary education away from parents, describing the student loan scheme as “an opportunity for Nigerian students to further their education to tertiary level”.

According to Sawyerr, the response to the scheme has been huge, with 12,000 applications received in the last 24 hours, and over 1 million applications received since the scheme was launched in May 2024.

He noted that the scheme has received a little less than 700,000 beneficiaries, and disbursed over N116.4bn in student loans, covering both institutional fees and upkeep allowances to students across 239 universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education nationwide.

“Nigerians are yearning for knowledge, they want to know, they want to learn. We are a very curious people. We want to know so much and the student loan policy has given people access and the opportunity to further their education to tertiary level.

“The impact has been huge. In the last 24 hours, we have had 12,000 applications for the student loan. You can imagine, the impact has been huge. Since May last year, we have had a little less than 700,000 beneficiaries and over a million applications. It is unprecedented.

“It shows you the pent up demand there has been and the political acumen of President Bola Tinubu to be able to see that this is what the country needs. If this country gets itself educated and on its feet, nobody will be able to threaten Nigeria. We are the greatest country in the world,” Sawyerr said.

The NELFund boss lauded the Oore of Otun Ekiti, Oba Adekunle Adeagbo, for his interest in the advancement of his people, and said the visit was prompted by the paramount ruler’s proactive action in seeking out the NELFund team to ensure that none of the people in his kingdom is left behind.

Sawyerr assured parents that their children are automatically qualified for the student loan once they secure admission to public tertiary institutions, as long as the student applies through the normal channel.

He emphasised that the loan has very soft terms, and urged parents to encourage their children to take advantage of the scheme to bring relief to themselves, fulfilment to their children, and honour to Nigeria.

Also speaking, the Oore of Otun Ekiti, Oba Adeagbo, expressed joy over the visit and the benefits the kingdoms would derive from the scheme.

“President Tinubu is working. This (student loan) is a testament to that fact. We should seize the opportunity. We are seeing an opportunity like this because President Tinubu, a man who values education, is on the seat.

“We are the ones to develop ourselves. The only way there can be development is through education. Let us not take this for granted, let us mobilize our sons and daughters.

“The result of this student loan, which gives our children access to education, is not really today, but in the future – 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years from now, we will begin to see the impacts. We can remember what the late Premier, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, did, free education, today look at the impact in the Southwest,” he said.

Encourage Your Children To Take Students Loan, NELFUND Urges Parents is first published on The Whistler Newspaper