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The House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Polytechnic and Higher Technical Education, Gboyega Isiaka on Saturday said that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund has as of September disbursed N84.2billion to the applicants comprising N27.5billion and N56.7 billion in institutional and upkeep facilities respectively.
Isiaka representing Yewa North/Imeko-Afon Federal Constituency in Ogun State said that 351,317 students have registered on the NELFUND portal out of which 258,943 have applied for either institutional or upkeep loans or both.
The federal lawmaker disclosed this at the 36th annual conference of Federal Government College, Maiduguri Old Students Association held at Mitros Residences, Abeokuta.
Isiaka spoke on Empowering The Next Generation: Education As a Catalyst For National Development (Student Loans Access To Higher Education Act 2024 in Perspective).
He said that the Students Loan Access to Higher Education Act, 2024, aims to bridge the financial gap, ensuring that deserving students can access quality higher education.
Isiaka said that the new bill removes obstacles that previously disqualified student applicants based on their parents’ loan history while the guarantor requirement has been eliminated, allowing students to apply for and receive loans subject to application and identity verification guidelines.
Applicants can apply for loans to cover tuition fees, other school fees, and maintenance allowances.
He said that the new bill as against that of 2022 has equally eliminated the family income threshold, enabling all Nigerian students to apply for loans and accept responsibility for repayment according to the Fund’s guidelines.
The lawmaker said that the beneficiaries of this loan will kick off repayment two years after observing the National Youth Service Corps but that the beneficiaries can equally request an extension of enforcement payment by providing an affidavit indicating they are not employed and receiving no income.
He however said that in the event of death or acts of God causing inability to repay, the loan will be forgiven, adding any person who provides a false statement to the Fund under the loan repayment section will be guilty of a felony and liable to imprisonment for three years.
Isiaka disclosed that the resuscitation of the student loans which started in 1972 but was later suspended is a game changer as it can widen Nigerians’ access to affordable and qualitative higher education.
He explained, “As of the end of September 2024, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has made tremendous progress under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, paving the way for a brighter future for our nation’s students.
“A total of N84.2 billion have thus far been disbursed to the applicants comprising of N27.5 billion and N56.7 billion in institutional and upkeep facilities respectively.
“This is more than just a statistic – it represents hope, opportunity, and a commitment to empowering our students to succeed”.
Speaking with journalists at the event, the National President of Federal Government College, Maiduguri Old Students Association, Mr Chris Abu decried the challenge of insecurity in the country saying that this problem is threatening the essence of Federal Government Colleges otherwise commonly.
Abu also lamented the current state of education in the country condemning the grossly inadequate human resources and the sorry state of infrastructure of the education facilities in the country.
He said that the federal government, the state and the local government as well as the private sector must come together and see how this challenge could be addressed.
Abu said, “I feel a little bit bad that the status quo has changed in our Federal Government Colleges. In the past, while we were at Federal Government College, Maiduguri, Borno State, the population of the indigenes among the students was not more than 30%, the remaining 70% were students from other parts of the state and other ethnic backgrounds.
“But this has changed due to the insecurity challenge. Right now, about 60 to 80 per cent of the student population are indigenes but that is not the purpose of these Federal Government Colleges also called Unity Schools. The essence of unity school is to bring together students of diverse backgrounds and ethnicity so that we can promote the unity of the country and national integration”.
The state Chairman of FEGOCOMOSA, Barr Deji Eniseyin, said that the annual conference is to further cement the unity of the country across all the divides.
Eniseyin said, “The purpose of the unity schools is to unite the country and foster integration..while we were in school in the early 90s, we had students from other parts of the country and at an early age, we get to understand the diverse nature of the country..it says a lot about strengthening the country’s unity”.
Eniseyin however said that the unity of the country would be more strengthened if the government could listen and harmonise all dissenting voices and bring everybody to the same page of working for the progress and further development of the country.
