The National Assembly (NASS) is working with the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to expand the student loan scheme from 1.6 million to 7 million beneficiaries, in a move aimed at widening access to tertiary education and strengthening national development.
Speaking on Monday in Abuja at a one-day national sensitisation programme on student loans, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, said the initiative was critical to ensuring that more indigent students benefit from the scheme.
He noted that many eligible students across the country remain unaware of how to access the facility, stressing the need for sustained public enlightenment.
“No matter how beneficial a programme is, if the intended beneficiaries are not adequately informed about it, its impact will be limited,” Jibrin said.
The sensitisation programme was organised by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund in collaboration with NELFUND.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed that the agency has so far disbursed about N282 billion, directly supporting 1.6 million students across Nigeria.
He added that when indirect beneficiaries are included, the intervention has impacted nearly 10 million people, based on an estimated average household size of five persons per student supported.
Sawyerr said the long-term goal of the scheme is to expand coverage to about 7 million beneficiaries, including students in tertiary institutions as well as participants in vocational and skills acquisition programmes.
According to him, the expansion will help strengthen technical and vocational education while improving employability and supporting broader economic development.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the House Committee on Students Loans, Scholarships and Tertiary Education Financing, Ifeoluwa Eyindero, described the programme as timely, noting that it would enhance public understanding of the loan scheme and its benefits.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on TETFund, Muntari Dandutse, said the initiative forms part of the National Assembly’s oversight role and its commitment to ensuring equitable access to education financing across the country.
