The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has Explained why students of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) are not eligible for the loan Facility.
This, it said, is due to their inability to possess Joint Admission
and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Number of the major requirements before
accessing the facility.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Fund,
Akintunde Sawyerr stated this while addressing journalists in Abuja.
The Guardian reports that although NOUN is listed as the 29th
school among the 126 federal higher institutions to benefit from the loan on
NELFUND website, they would not be among the 1.2 nmillion beneficiaries of the
first phase of the loan for not meeting this criteria.
Recall that the MD had also revealed that 60,000 students
had registered for the facility in one week, out of which 30,000 -representing
50 per cent successfully applied.
He said the agency has very strict criteria and guidelines
and would not bend the rules for any institution or individual, no matter how
highly placed.
According to him, the Fund would ensure due diligence, “protect
taxpayers money and protect the fund from frivolously handing out money without
being able to account for it”.
Sawyerr said: “We have strict criteria and guidelines around
how people can access this loan opportunity. All of them are non-negotiable.
JAMB (number) is non-negotiable using this application process. Unfortunately,
if an applicant hasn’t got a JAMB number, and hasn’t gone through the JAMB application
process it is going to be impossible to grant that individual a loan at this
stage.
So, I urge those who can, to go and regularise their status
with JAMB so that it makes it easy for them to access this opportunity. This is
an equal opportunities programme. It doesn’t seek to discriminate against
anybody. But it does seek to protect taxpayers’ money and protect the Fund from
frivolously handing out money without being able to account for it.
We have an obligation to that. This money is held in trust
by NELFUND and administered by the management. And we must do everything we can
to protect it. Even if it means, unfortunately, some people won’t have access
to it immediately”.
He, therefore, urged those affected to contact the examination
body and regularise their status.
He listed other mandatory requirements by applicants to
include: name of institution of study,
Admission number, date of birth, National Identity Number
(NIN) as well as Bank Verification Number (BVN).