No fewer than five tertiary institutions in the South-East have benefited from the Federal Government’s student loan scheme as of September 6, 2024, data obtained from the Nigeria Education Loan Fund revealed.
The revelation comes amidst earlier allegations that NELFUND was deliberately shunning schools in the South-East in its disbursement process.
Amidst the allegations, NELFUND said it did not shun any institution, explaining that none of the South-East institutions had completed the requisite verification process.
“ It’s important to clarify that geopolitical zones are not a factor in the disbursement process.
“NELFUND sent a verification list to every institution eligible for disbursement. Payments are being made to institutions that have responded to this verification.
“Unfortunately, we have not yet received any response from the institutions in the South-East. We urge these institutions to complete the verification process so that their students can benefit from the scheme,” NELFUND had said.
But checks by our correspondent on Tuesday showed that institutions in the South-East had started benefiting from the Federal Government student loan scheme.
According to a list obtained from the NELFUND, the institutions that have benefited from the loan scheme so far include Alex Ekueme Federal University Ndufu, Ebonyi State, which got N193,377,100; Michael Okpara University, which got N71,016,220; Abia State University, which N12,469,5003; Federal Polytechnic, Nkede, Imo State, which got N368,400; and Ebonyi State University, which got N78,313,000.
Meanwhile, the NEFFund has continued to intensify sensitisation, particularly in the South-East.
Last week, it embarked on a sensitisation programme to the South-East with a visit to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in Anambra State and Federal Polytechnic, Nekede in Imo State.
The implementation of the student loan scheme is President Bola Tinubu’s flagship project in the education sector.
Barely a month after his inauguration as President, Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, which creates a legal framework for granting loans to indigent or low-income Nigerians to facilitate the payment of their fees in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The law, reenacted earlier this year, created the NELFUND, which is saddled with the responsibility of handling all loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery.
The Fund, according to the Act, is to be funded from multiple streams and will engage in other productive activities.
