The National Assembly and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund are collaborating to expand the student loan scheme from 1.6 million to 7 million beneficiaries to deepen access to tertiary education.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at a one-day national sensitisation programme on student loans organized by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund in collaboration with NELFUND.
Jibrin said the expansion was timely but stressed that many indigent students remain unaware of how to access the scheme. He called for nationwide sensitisation across the six geopolitical zones to maximise impact.
“No matter how beneficial a programme is, if the intended beneficiaries are not adequately informed about it, its impact will be limited,” he said.
NELFUND Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr said the scheme has so far disbursed about ₦282 billion and directly supported 1.6 million students. He noted that when indirect beneficiaries are factored in, the intervention has impacted nearly 10 million people, based on an average household size of five.
Sawyerr said the long-term target is to cover about 7 million beneficiaries, including students in tertiary institutions and participants in vocational and skills acquisition programmes. He added that the expansion would strengthen technical and vocational education to boost employability and national development.
Chairman of the House Committee on Students Loans, Scholarships and Tertiary Education Financing, Ifeoluwa Eyindero, described the sensitisation as timely and vital to deepening public understanding of the scheme. He said the fund had already recorded significant progress in supporting Nigerian students through financial assistance.
Earlier, Senate Committee on TETFund Chairman Muntari Dandutse said the programme was part of the National Assembly’s oversight role and its commitment to ensuring equitable access to education for all Nigerians.
