By Regina Otokpa,
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disclosed ongoing plans to introduce specialized software that would enable students living with disabilities in higher institutions to fully take advantage of its loan scheme.
Managing Director/Chief Executive of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr who disclosed a stakeholders’ engagement on student loan in Benin City, Edo State, noted that NELFUND would collaborate with the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to ensure more inclusivity as he maintained that the Act establishing NELFUND guarantees equal opportunity for all.
He said: “We want to see how we can make it easier for those visually impaired so that they can apply for the loan. We are looking at a specific software we are going to use.”
Addressing concerns about loan repayment in the event of a beneficiary’s death, he said: “The law says that, if the very person dies, that loan is not transferred to the family or anyone else. The loan is wiped out.”
Sawyerr reiterated the government’s commitment to making tertiary education accessible to all Nigerians saying, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came up with this initiative that no Nigerian student anywhere in Nigeria should be deprived of the opportunity to gain tertiary education because of lack of money.
“In order to actualize this vision, he set up this agency, Nigeria Education Loan Fund. He has funded it, he has put political will behind it, having created a structure through an Act of Parliament that effectively says that we are to go and look for these students, those who are about to drop out, those who are considering not furthering after secondary level, that we should look for them and if money is their issue, we should try to solve it. We’ve been doing that.”
Edo State Deputy Governor, Dennis Idahosa, commended the Federal Government for making the student loan scheme a reality.
“Before now, many families go through a lot of challenges to be able to pay school fees for students across the country.
“We as a state government, by the grace of God, we are going to collaborate with you for very aggressive sensitization to ensure that almost all the students in Edo State benefit from the student loan initiative.”
Edo State Commissioner for Education, Paddy Iyamu, humorously advised parents against having more children simply because the burden of tertiary education costs would be covered by NELFUND saying, “To my men folk, don’t begin to fire on because of NELFUND.”
Iyamu described the scheme as nearly free due to its zero-interest nature, explaining that repayment would only begin two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and when beneficiaries are employed, with deductions set at 10% of their salary.
The commissioner, who named the NELFUND Managing Director, Efosa, an Edo name, meaning ‘He Who Brings Blessings,’ for passionately championing the loan scheme initiative across the three senatorial districts in Edo State and across the country, said Governor Monday Okpebholo-led government would leave no stone unturned to ensure its success.
