The National Association of Nigeria Students NANS has raised its voice in demanding to know why southern-based students in Nigeria are being scarce in the Nigerian Education Loan Fund NELFUND program.
Speaking from Abeokuta, Ogun State, the NANS National headquarters Senate Clerk, Abdul-Yekinn Odunayo, urged the southern students to embrace this education financing opportunity.
The student body has also noticed the regional dimension in the utilization of the loans, and students from the northern region apply for loans more often. NANS said that southern students are depriving themselves of this financial endowment for sustainable higher education and the Functional Skills Development Programme Office pioneered by former President Bola Ahmed Tinubu across the country.
While commending NELFUND’s implementation, Odunayo stated that the agency has made access to the application easy, saying that the procedures have not been made cumbersome for students as is the case with many agencies. Several examples were given, to show that the loan scheme has been of immense benefit, as many financially challenged students have the opportunity to achieve their quality education dreams through the program.
According to Odunayo, the student loan scheme has turned out to be a source of life support for many of the in dire need of Nigerian students to achieve their dreams in their academics, he also took his time to appreciate the transparent and accountable atmosphere which has been implemented by NELFUND. But he insisted on the promotion where there is still little awareness, especially in the southern states where the turnout has often been poor.
Given this, NANS’s call for action is in synch with other lingering issues of educational injustice and lack of adequate financial resources for all the geopolitical zones of the country.
The organisation regards itself as an advocate of fair distribution of available learning opportunities in the students’ community, and therefore increased participation of southern students in the loan scheme would go a long way in promoting regional equity in access to university education.
The statement also appreciated the effort of the Tinubu administration in providing the needed funds for the realization of its agenda through NELFUND as an intervention agency towards the reduction of financial challenges in higher learning institutions.
As it progresses, NANS also stresses the need to keep the system optimally run while growing the sensitisation campaign in a bid to ensure as many distressed students across the country can access this educational financing opportunity.
