The management of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has said it gets an average of 1,000 applications daily from students across the country.
It also said over half a million students are currently on its portal benefiting from the loan scheme.
The fund’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Akintunde Sawyerr, gave the numbers yesterday in Abuja while welcoming participants to a stakeholders’ engagement and technical workshop on NELFUND System Automation and Loan Application Processes.
Sawyerr said the stakeholders’ engagement was organise to close some observed gaps in the loan applications.
The chief executive said the aim of establishing NELFUND by the Federal Government goes beyond dishing out loans to students but to democratise opportunities for every young Nigerian who is willing to learn and grow to have a real shot at education, regardless of their background, location, or chosen path of study.
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Buttressing the idea behind the stakeholders’ engagement, Sawyerr noted that for too long, many students, especially in technical institutions, faced steep financial barriers.
He added that some dropped out while others have never applied.
Sawyerr said: “This is the gap we’re here to close. But we know we can’t do it alone. This is a shared mission. It belongs to all of us – government, institutions, and the private sector alike.”
“This technical workshop marks a major step forward. We’re not only providing financing.
We’re building a technology-driven system that makes it easier for students to apply, for institutions to verify, and for funds to be disbursed with speed, fairness, and accountability.”
Commenting on some perceived challenges and how the fund hoped to close the gaps, Sawyerr said: “You know, when you launch a project of this magnitude, what you do is to do all the preparation you can. Then you launch it into the marketplace – if I can use that expression – and then you see the reaction, the level of engagement, the issues, and then you make a plan as to how you’re going to make it better.
“So, we’re doing this now because, yes, we want to improve what we have already, but we’re going to do this every so often so that as we discover new things, new opportunities, new challenges, new problems, we can address everything in one go.”