The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELF) has unveiled plans to directly disburse student loans to educational institutions to prevent misuse, according to the fund’s Executive Secretary, Akin Sawyerr. This announcement was made during a meeting with Chris Maiyaki, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, in Abuja.
Under the new scheme, recipients are expected to start repaying their loans two years after completing their mandatory National Youth Service Corps, aiming to ease the financial burden on students while ensuring accountability.
Sawyerr outlined the various sources of funding for NELF, including a percentage of the Federal Government’s profits from oil and other minerals, taxes, levies, duties from the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigerian Custom Service, alongside Education Bonds and Education Endowment Fund schemes. Additionally, donations, gifts, and endowments, along with other revenues, will support the Education Loan.
However, the scheme has faced criticism from academic circles, notably by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA). The union’s chairman, Prof. Pius Mogaji, voiced concerns that the loan scheme, proposed by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, could deprive public universities of necessary funding and place an undue financial strain on students, potentially leaving them in a cycle of debt.
This criticism was highlighted during an award ceremony for scholarships to outstanding and needy students at FUTA, where Mogaji reiterated the union’s stance against the student loan initiative.
