The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyerr, has revealed that the agency may consider extending its student loan scheme to private institutions within the next three years.

Sawyerr made this known during a strategic engagement and sensitisation campaign with heads of institutions and other stakeholders in Enugu on Thursday.

The campaign incorporated local dialects to enhance comprehension and encourage participation in the programme across the region.

He noted that while the current focus is on addressing the urgent needs of students in public universities and colleges, the long-term objective is to ensure that all Nigerian students?regardless of institution type?can access financial aid for their education.

?We have only been going for one year. We need to really address the public sector first. These loans allow students to otherwise drop out for very small amounts of money,? he said.

?The students that we see in the public sector don?t even have the option in most cases to go to private sector, and some of them are dropping out. So we want to address that, make sure that we?ve got them covered. And then when we see after a while?two, three years max?the effect this has had on the generality of youth in Nigeria, we can then do some sort of review to see what it might mean for moving to the private sector segment.?

acknowledged that the fund faces challenges, particularly regarding public perception and misinformation.

?The only challenges we have are the usual ones?misunderstanding, misinformation, people not being sure, or feeling that it?s designed not to work for them or that something is stopping them. They just have a normal problem like everybody else has with technology, and then they say, this has been rigged against us. But we?re here. We?re not here to waste our time. We?re here to help the people apply and get institutions to also take part,? he explained.

Also speaking at the event, the Special Adviser to the Enugu State Governor on Education Innovation, Dr. Chinyere Onyeisi, stressed the importance of the loan programme as a crucial support system for students.

?So what the government is doing has an essential role to play in different areas of education. But this NELFUND has to do with the student support system. And it is important for our students in Southeast and Enugu in particular to maximise the opportunity to apply,? Onyeisi said.

She urged institutional leaders present to carry the message back to their schools and educate students on the application process.

?The major takeaway to the teachers, the heads of institutions that are here today, is when they go back to their various schools, they are supposed to continue to step down the sensitisation programme to make sure that the students understand the procedures, how to apply, and then apply effectively to benefit from this initiative. Because it?s real. And they are testifying that other states are already benefiting,? she added. (The PUNCH)

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