South East govs, lawmakers move to resolve student loan hiccups

South-East governors and lawmakers representing the region in the National Assembly have stepped in to help students from the region benefit from the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.

Kalu assured students from the region that the issues would be resolved and they would soon be included in the Federal Government’s student loan programme.

The assurance followed concerns raised by the South-East caucus in the National Assembly over the alleged exclusion of the region after the Nigerian Education Loan Fund released the list of institutions eligible for the loan nationwide.

The release by NELFUND showed that institutions in the North took advantage of the programme, as well as those in the South-West and South-South.

However, no institution from the South-East had benefited from the fund initiated by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The development generated reactions on social media, as NELFUND had to clarify that no institution in the southeast had done its verification on its platform.

In a statement on Monday, the Deputy Speaker noted that his office had engaged with the authorities responsible for the student loans and expressed optimism that the issue would be resolved in the coming days.

Kalu said during the engagements, it was identified that low student registration from the South-East and errors in completing relevant forms, such as missing Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board results, were the primary reasons for the region’s exclusion.

He noted that affected institutions in the South-East had since taken steps to address the issues.

“The governors of the region are also actively involved in increasing the number of participating students, and members of the National Assembly have been encouraged to reach out to their constituents for immediate compliance,” he said.

To raise awareness, he said his office had initiated several measures, including the production of jingles in English, Igbo, and Pidgin English, which would be aired on various radio stations across the region.

He said Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, had 2,543 eligible students, but none could apply due to missing JAMB numbers.

For Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, only 406 applications were submitted out of the 21,342 students.

In Abia State University, Uturu, there was no application from the 17,928 eligible students, while for the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with 40,769 eligible students, only 781 had applied.

In the University of Medical and Applied Sciences, Enugu, with 610 eligible students, only 34 applications were made while at the Federal Polytechnic, Ohodo, none of the nine eligible students applied.

Only 11 applications were received from the Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, out of 2,491 eligible students; Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, had 930 applications from 19,221 eligible students, while Ebonyi State University with 15,622 eligible students had 331 applications.

There were 28 applications from David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, out of 831 eligible students, Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, Unwana had 188 applications from 4,774 eligible students, while none of the 128 eligible students of the Federal College of Education, Isu, had applied.

In Imo State, there were 1,114 applications from the 27,371 eligible students of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri; 14 applications from the 736 eligible students of the Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Umuagwo, while only 11 applied out of 1,109 eligible students of Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri, among others.

There were 253 applications from 39,334 eligible students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; none applied from the 1,577 eligible students of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, while there were only 44 applications from the 2,778 eligible students of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze.

Kalu urged the institutions to encourage their students to apply for the loan and called on stakeholders to set up registration points in their communities to increase participation.

“The governors are also working to ensure more students participate, and members of the House of Representatives and Senate from the South-East have been tasked with reaching out to their constituents for immediate compliance,” Kalu stated.

He appealed for patience among South-East students and residents while assuring them that the necessary steps were being taken to resolve the issue.