The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has approved the disbursement of federal government-backed student loan.
In a press statement published on its X platform on
Thursday, the directive was given following its inaugural board meeting in
Abuja on Wednesday.
Signed by its Head, Media and Public Relations, Nasir
Ayitogo, the statement said the meeting marked a significant milestone in the
organisation’s commitment to empowering students through financial support.
It said, “Under the leadership of the Board Chairman, Mr.
Jim Ovia, top in agenda was the approval for disbursement of student loan to
successful applicants.
“This decision underscores President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s
dedication to providing timely and essential financial assistance to students
in need, enabling them to pursue their educational goals without undue
financial stress.
“By approving the immediate disbursement of the loans,
NELFUND is taking a critical step in fulfilling its mission to support
education and empower the next generation of leaders.”
The inaugural meeting also set the stage for future
initiatives, aimed at enhancing educational opportunities, and providing
comprehensive support to students across various disciplines.
Also present at the meeting were the management of the fund
led by the Managing Director/CEO, Akintunde Sawyerr and representatives of
member organisations.
The development comes days after reports NELFUND announced a
14-day postponement of the application process for student loans for state
institutions due to low data submissions.
Ayitogo, on Tuesday, said the decision was necessitated by
the failure of several state-owned institutions, to upload the required student
data and fee information to the NELFUND Student Verification System (SVS).
To date, it said only a limited number of state-owned
institutions have completed the data submission process. These include 20 state
universities out of 48, 12 state colleges out of 54, and 2 state polytechnics
out of 49.
It said, “While we acknowledge the efforts of these
institutions, the failure to submit data from the remaining state institutions
poses significant challenges to ensuring a seamless and accurate verification
process for student loan applicants.
The application window, initially set to open on June 25,
2024, will now commence on July 10, 2024, according to Ayitogo.
Tinubu had on April 3, 2024, signed the Student Loans
(Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law.
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