Breaking: Private Varsity Students May Soon Access Federal Loans – NELFUND Reveals

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is considering extending its student loan scheme to include learners in private universities and colleges within the next two to three years.

This was disclosed by the agency’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, during a strategic engagement and awareness session with educational leaders and stakeholders in Enugu on Thursday. The outreach also featured the use of local dialects to boost regional comprehension and participation.

Sawyerr emphasized that the current priority is on students in public tertiary institutions, many of whom are facing severe financial hardship or dropping out of school entirely due to lack of funds.

“We’ve only been operational for one year. Right now, our urgent responsibility is to serve public sector students—many of whom don’t even have private education as an option. We want to ensure they are adequately supported first,” Sawyerr explained.

He added that a review may take place in two to three years, after evaluating the programme’s overall impact, to determine the feasibility of expanding support to students in private institutions.

The NELFUND boss also acknowledged existing challenges, including public skepticism and technological setbacks, which have occasionally disrupted the application process.

“Sometimes when applicants encounter the usual tech issues, they assume the system is rigged. But that’s not the case. We’re here to assist applicants and get more institutions involved,” he clarified.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Chinyere Onyeisi, Special Adviser to the Enugu State Governor on Education Innovation, stressed the importance of the loan initiative, urging school leaders to guide students in accessing the scheme.

“This student loan programme is a vital support system. It’s essential that students across the South-East, especially here in Enugu, take full advantage of it,” she noted.

She further encouraged school heads to cascade the training and information down to students to ensure they understand the application procedures and benefit from the initiative, which she affirmed is already impacting students in other states.