The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has set an official date of May 24, 2024, for the commencement of a platform for students to apply for loans which was stated by Nasir Ayantogo, the media lead of the fund.
Ayantogo, mentioned in a statement, that the launch of the application portal signifies a huge milestone in President Bola Tinubu’s dedication to “fostering accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.”
President, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, on June 12, 2023, signed the access to Higher Education Act, 2023 into law. This move was aimed to provide opportunities to underprivileged students in order for them to secure interest-free loans in their academic endeavors at any Nigerian tertiary institution.
Tinubu’s action was in fulfillment with keeping his word in one of his campaign pledges to improve the financing of education in the country.
The Act, which is commonly referred to as the Students Loan Law was to set up the Nigerian Education Loan Fund in handling all loan applications, approvals, distribution, and repayment processes.
Although, despite the actual plan by the government to kick off with the program in September 2023, they experienced various setbacks which eventually caused multiple delays that resulted in an indefinite postponement in early March 2024.
The delay was linked to President Tinubu’s instruction in trying to broaden the project by introducing loans for vocational skills.
Following a briefing from the (NELFUND) team which was led by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, on January 22, the President, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, instructed the Fund team to provide interest-free loans to Nigerian students that are keen on participating in skill development programs.
The President, Bola, Tinubu made the decision in considering the importance of ensuring that the program caters to youths who might opt not to pursue a university education. He emphasized that acquiring skills is just as important as attaining academic degrees at undergraduate and graduate levels.
Students can easily get access to loans in order to pursue their academic goals without having to worry about financial limitations.
