Akintunde Sawyerr, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), revealed in an interview with Channels TV in Abuja that the Fund anticipates receiving between 250,000 to 300,000 applications for its student loan scheme this year.
Sawyerr noted that the number of applicants from the non-academic sector might be lower initially, as this part of the scheme is just beginning.
Despite this, Sawyerr assured that NELFUND has allocated sufficient budgetary resources to accommodate all two million students enrolled in tertiary institutions across Nigeria. He emphasized that the loan program is accessible not only to prospective students but also to those currently enrolled in public institutions.
“Currently today in tertiary institutions across the board including the private sector, there are about two (2) million people. This loan is open to those who are already in the institutions. This is not about those coming in only.
“This is about if you apply for a loan today, for the next session, you will get it.
“Arguably, we can give everybody a loan. The funds are available to make for us to cover those sorts of numbers over time.
“This year, we expect to have 250,000 to 300,000 applicants from the academic side. We are going to have less than that for the vocational side because we are just kicking that process off,” Sawyer said.
Speaking on loan recovery, Sawyerr said the loan is expected to be deducted directly from the sources of earnings of applicants once they start working.
He said the scheme is also insured to help cover certain risks and exposures that may affect the initiative during the process.
Sawyer also added that the revised Student Loan Act provides loan forgiveness in certain situations, particularly when the borrower unfortunately dies and is unable to pay back the loan granted to him.
“Because of the potential risk of loss of funds. As you can imagine, if you deploy funds to anything, you can lose that investment. These loans will be insured.
“I should point out that the law makes provisions for forgiveness of debt if the applicant dies. Insurance will take care of some of the risks and exposure.
“It’s worth pointing out that in terms of the loan recovery itself, it will be directly deducted from the source when people start earning,” he said.
