Student Loan: Gov Abdulrazaq Excited As NELFUND Takes Awareness Campaign To Kwara
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State has submitted that the Federal Government’s Student Loan scheme, NELFUND will boost the hope of children of low-income earners in the country with respect to having access to quality higher education.
The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Rafiu Ajakaye noted in a statement he issued in Ilorin and made available to Team@orientactualmags.com that he spoke in Ilorin during the sensitization programme held in the state capital on Tuesday which was attended by tertiary institution students in the state.
The programme, the statement noted, was organized by the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) in partnership with the Office of the governor’s Special Adviser on Education, Policy Formulation & Human Capital Development, Dr Adetola Ariyike Salau.
It was themed ‘Empowering Students through Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship’.
AbdulRazaq commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the initiative that will address the major challenge faced by young people in respect of tertiary education.
He added that his administration is partnering with NELFUND on the sensitization 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 opportunity like this. Like I said earlier, the major challenge facing the young people with respect to gaining access to quality education is lack of funds. So, providing this kind of opportunity is huge, and this is not just about money but empowerment’ the governor, who was represented by Dr Salau, submitted.
‘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 leaving 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 programme. That is very key because they all need to be involved’ she added.
Managing Director NELFUND, Akintunde Sanya, who spoke through Executive Director, Operations, Mustapha lyal, said they have so far received over 400,000 applications across Nigerian institutions since the launch of their operation, out of which 70% have been cleared.
He added that thousands of students from Kwara State have benefited from the loan scheme with about N900 million disbursed to public tertiary institutions in the state.
The NELFUND boss explained that after successful application, the agency pays the school fees of the beneficiaries into the bank accounts of their respective institutions, while their annual upkeep of N240,000 is paid into their individual bank accounts.
Vice -Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Egbewole, in his remarks, said the initiative is bringing a great relief to parents who have the responsibility to pay the tuition fees of their children, and urged students to enroll en masse and take advantage of the opportunity that has been provided.
Egbewole, who was represented by Deputy VC Management Services, Professor 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 -Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com. Thank you
