•To open portal to state-owned institutions soon
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund) said it has witnessed an ‘extraordinary’ surge in applications, with over 60,000 applications from students successfully submitted since the launch of the programme on May 24, 2024.
Managing Director of NELFund, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this at a press conference, in Abuja, yesterday.
He said the NELFund was impressed with the application and interest of the students in the programme, and assured them of adequate services/experiences that would improve their education opportunities.
Sawyerr said: “Since the launch of our portal last Friday for students in federal institutions of higher learning, we have witnessed an internal surge in applications, with over 60,000 since the launch of the portal.
“This has been an overwhelming response and it serves as a testament to the critical need for financial assistance among our student population. We, at NELFund, remain committed to addressing urgent demands, progressing, and collaborating with financial institutions to ensure successful application processing.
“We are pleased to report that over 90 per cent of federal institutions of higher learning have submitted their students’ data to NELFund.
However, we have two remaining Federal Government universities and five federal polytechnics that need to expedite the process to ensure all eligible students can access NelFund financial support.”
On expansion to state-owned tertiary institutions, he reiterated the commitment to democratise higher education.
“We are excited to announce that NELFund will commence accepting applications from students attending state-owned tertiary institutions in three weeks’ time.
“We request all state institutions to submit their students’ data by the requested date, June 25, to facilitate a smooth and seamless application process.”
Speaking on the skills acquisition programme, beyond financial assistance, the NELFund boss said NELFund recognises the importance of equipping our youths with practical, market-relevant skills. “Six months from today, we will launch a comprehensive skills and acquisition programme providing training in various vocational and technical fields.
“This programme is designed to prepare students to meet the demands of the modern job market, fostering entrepreneurship and innovation among young people,” he said.
