From Magnus Eze, Enugu
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (South East), Mrs Chioma Nweze, has charged public universities in the region shortlisted for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), to ensure that their students benefitted from the fund.
Nweze gave the advice as reports emerged that no institution from the South East was captured in the recent allocation of about ₦2.95 billion to 27,667 students across 19 universities in the country.
The Presidential aide was alarmed by the development which has continued to elicit condemnations from several stakeholders in the zone even as the fund managers claimed that disbursement of the loan was not based on geographical zone.
She attributed the exclusion of institutions from the zone in the first tranche of the allocation to failure to meet necessary requirements to access the loan.
“This omission is a missed opportunity for our students to access critical funding for their education. NELFUND offers a lifeline for students struggling to finance their studies, and it is imperative that our universities take immediate action to unlock this funding.
“We urge all South East universities to step in and ensure students respond promptly to the NELFUND verification request, complete all necessary requirements for loan access, and take advantage of this package to support their programmes. This funding can be a game-changer for our students, providing them with the resources they need to succeed.
“We cannot afford to let this chance slip away. We must act now to ensure that our students do not miss out on this opportunity. We owe it to ourselves, our students, and our region to take the lead and secure this funding,” Nweze stated.
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