By Felix Khanoba
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is taking steps to streamline the verification process for student loan applicants by linking its platform with the portals of higher education institutions.
The Fund’s Executive Director of Operations, Mustapha Iyal, shared this development during a sensitization event at the University of Ilorin for institutions across Kwara State on Tuesday.
Explaining the initiative, Iyal said: “We observed that one of the problems we are having is the problem of verification. So what NELFUND is trying to do is that we want to engage the institutions directly by linking the NELFUND activities on the institutional portals so by doing that when a student is trying to do registration in school, they can select whether they want to pay via NELFUND, cash or other means.
“So if the student opts to pay with NELFUND, they will fill in the application with their details which are already on the institutional portals so they don’t have to go to the NELFUND portal. That is the kind of portal we are looking at. We want to create a synergy.”
Addressing concerns raised by students from beneficiary institutions, Iyal assured attendees that the Fund is actively working to resolve reported issues.
“On the issues raised by the students, we are working on ways to make the whole process seamless. We have already started working on the issues. We work 24 hours and we are always there for the student,” he added.
Also speaking at the event, Umar Farouk, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) representative on the NELFUND board, commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for establishing the student loan scheme.
“One of the campaign promises of the President is the student loan, and I am happy to say that the student loan fund is here to stay. Nigerians can now get to understand that children of nobodies can now access higher education easily. With access to student loan, everyone now has the ease to go to school,” Farouk stated.
The student loan initiative is one of President Tinubu’s key education sector reforms. Shortly after assuming office, he signed the Access to Higher Education Act, which created NELFUND to manage student loan applications, disbursements, and repayments.
According to the law, NELFUND is funded through various channels and is empowered to engage in activities that sustain the Fund’s operations while supporting students’ access to education.
