Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has applauded the student loan policy of the Federal Government for boosting the hope of children of low-income earners to access quality higher education in the country.
The Governor spoke in Ilorin, the State capital, during a sensitisation program for students of tertiary institutions in the State.
The programme, themed ‘Empowering Students through Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship’, was organised by the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) in partnership with the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Policy Formulation & Human Capital Development, Dr Adetola Ariyike Salau.
AbdulRazaq commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the initiative, which, he noted, would address the major challenge of youth acquiring tertiary education.
The Governor said his administration is partnering with NELFUND on the sensitisation to ensure that students across the educational institutions in the State benefit from the scheme.
“There is a lot to be grateful to the federal government for creating an avenue like this. Like I said earlier, the major challenge facing the youth in gaining access to quality education is a lack of funding.
“So, providing this kind of opportunity is huge, and this is not just about money but empowerment,” the Governor said through Salau, who represented him.
“We are going to be rolling out more programmes, talking about how we are going to mentor and give them skills at different centers across the state.
“This is important because after finishing the school, what next? Do they have the right skills so that they can be employable? So, we are going to partner with NELFUND to carry out this program. That is very key because they all need to be carried along.”
Managing Director NELFUND, Akintunde Sanya, who spoke through Executive Director Operations, Mustapha lyal, said they had so far received over 400,000 applications across Nigerian institutions since the launch of their operation, out of which 70% had been cleared.
He said that thousands of students from Kwara State have benefited from the loan scheme, with about N900m disbursed to the combined public institutions in the state.
NELFUND boss explained that after a successful application, the agency pays the school fees of the beneficiaries into their institutions’ accounts, while their annual upkeep of N240,000 is paid into their individual accounts.
Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Wahab Egbewole, in his remarks, said the initiative is bringing a relief to parents who have the responsibility to pay their students’ school fees and urged students to enroll en masse and take advantage of the opportunity provided.
Egbewole, who was represented by Deputy VC Management Services Prof Adegboyega Fawale, hailed the federal government for the programme.
Vice Chancellor, Muhammad Kamal-deen University, urged the federal government to find means of incorporating private institutions into NELFUND, saying their students also want to benefit as bonafide Nigerians.
Other speakers at the programme, including deans of student affairs of the various institutions in the state, advised the students to explore the opportunity to advance their knowledge.
