If not for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (Nelfund) overseeing a special higher education credit scheme starting in April, the learners at 36 state-owned tertiary schools could have found themselves in a fix trying to work out the finance that is required to run their programme without hiccups.

While Christian households were settling back into their residence after worship yesterday, Nelfund released an important public notice via X that listed the new institutions whose undergrads are now eligible to request interest-free loans for tuition fees, which they would have otherwise struggled to find under the strenuous economic cycle their parents and guardians find themselves in.

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President Bola Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024 on 3 April, intending to ease the financial burdens the citizens found themselves shouldering ever since his restructuring policies started 14 months ago. The beneficiaries will be able to pay back their loans two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation and skills-based journey.

A Nigerian Education Loan Fund tweet on Sunday, 7 July reads this confirmation: The management of these institutions have successfully submitted their student data to the NELFUND Student Verification System (SVS). We urge all other state-owned tertiary institutions to submit their complete student data to the NELFUND Student Verification System timely to enable their students [to] benefit from the scheme.

Ever since President Bola Tinubu’s administration, there have been a lot of eyes on where new incomes are being diverted especially when the federal government no longer pay subsidies on petroleum products.

To apply for a student loan, the undergrad only has to register on Nelfund’s website following three steps – first, they register their profile; next they request the loan, then they wait for their loan assistance to be verified.

Part of the 36 schools whose undergraduates can now apply for tuition fee credit that covers aspects of upkeep are Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti; Gombe State University; Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University, as well as the Lagos State University of Education.

PUBLIC NOTICE

STUDENT LOAN APPLICATION FOR STATE OWNED TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS: 36 INSTITUTIONS NOW ONBOARDED

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is pleased to announce that students enrolled in the following 36 state-owned tertiary institutions can now apply for student… pic.twitter.com/6c2r7HfKPB

— NELFUND Nigeria (@NELFUND) July 7, 2024

Students getting the utmost benefit of the credit depends on peaceful dealing between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the federal government team including the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman. The staff union wants the FG to clear off the salary arrears owed to its members.

When It Started

The early hours of Friday 14 October 2022 marked the end of an 8-month strike that began on the year’s Saint Valentine’s Day.

At the time ASUU wanted the previous Muhammadu Buhari administration to address issues relating to a unified, corrupt-free payment system, a better handling of welfare and seamless management within the education system.

Under President Bola Tinubu and Prof. Mamman as the education minister of the country, what seems the big issue at this time is the dispute about the close to eight months of salaries that Mr Buhari had withheld under the no work, no pay rule he imposed when lecturers decided to shun university halls over their disagreement.

Even though the current Tinubu government already paid ASUU members four months out of the total owed, the union wants the total sum due or else there is to be a strike.

Climax Reached

Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke ASUU’s national had earlier warned on Channels Television Sunrise Daily programme up to five weeks ago that there would be no pay, no work policy also adopted by his colleagues if the federal government refuses to yield to their request asking for full payment.

In 17 days, ASUU would be meeting with federal officials to revisit the promises the government made if they were not fulfilled by then.

We have met with the Minister of Education and reached a timeline. They made promises to us and we want to watch if it would be done. We are meeting two weeks from today, July 25th, to see if they have done what they promised, says Prof. Osodeke speaking to Punch Newspaper whose correspondent interviewed him yesterday.

One of the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities was for the federal government to inaugurate the governing councils of universities, polytechnics and other federal tertiary institutions that were dissolved in June 2023 and this box in a long list has been checked.

Three days ago, Prof. Mamman had inaugurated the members of the councils, charging them to be acquainted with the acts guiding the administration of tertiary schools.

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Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.