May 30, (THEWILL)- The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has said over 60,000 students have successfully registered for the loan scheme.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Fund, Akintunde Sawyerr, made this known on Thursday, in Abuja, at a Post-Application launch press conference.
Sawyerr also announced that the portal would be opened for students of state-owned universities from June 25th, 2024. He said the site has had over nine million visitors since its launch a week ago.
This is as he disclosed that 90 percent of the 126 federal government-owned institutions have successfully uploaded data of their students.
The Fund had said 1.2 million students from federal government-owned universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and technical colleges are expected to benefit from the first phase of the scheme.
Addressing journalists on Thursday, Sawyerr said, “Since the launch of our student loan application portal last Friday for students in Federal institutions of higher learning, we have witnessed an extraordinary surge in applications, with over 60,000 submissions since inception.
“The overwhelming response serves as a testament to the critical need for financial assistance among our student population, and we remain committed to addressing this urgent demand.
“To ensure efficient application processing, we are pleased to report that over 90 percent of Federal Institutions of higher learning have submitted their students’ data to NELFUND.
“However, we urge the remaining two Federal Universities and five Federal Polytechnics to expedite the process to ensure that all eligible students can access our financial support.
“In line with our 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. We request all state institutions submit their students’ data immediately, as requested, to facilitate a smooth and seamless application process.”
The agency, he said, will launch a comprehensive skills acquisition programme for youth with practical, market-relevant skills in the next six months.
