The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has called on the South-South and South-East regions to increase their participation in the student loan scheme.

The managing director of NELFund, Akintunde Sawyerr, made the call on Monday during a stakeholders’ engagement session and technical workshop on system automation and the loan application process in Abuja.

The three-day event began on Monday with universities and will continue with polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education in the coming days.

Mr Sawyerr said the gathering was a critical milestone in the collective journey it has embarked upon to deliver a fully digitised, transparent, and student-centric financial aid system for Nigerian higher education.

Responding to reports that NELFund was paying students who had already graduated, he clarified that the fund was handling government and taxpayers’ money, and no disbursement would be rushed.

“We have to adhere to our processes. If a person has already paid their fees in their final year, and we’ve paid their tuition, it is the obligation of that individual to go to school.

“But to complain that you’ve already graduated and you’ve left, the fact of the matter is, people applied in their final year.

“You have to go through a process that allows us to make sure that they are the ones who are actually applying and who actually need it,” he said.

He added that the meeting was intended to influence how the platform evolves and how the fund addresses practical challenges faced by institutions and students alike.

Ifeoluwa Ehindero, the chairman of the House Committee on Students Loan, Scholarships, and Higher Education Financing, said for the system to be truly effective, there was a need to modernise and streamline how to manage, track, and deliver funds to deserving students.

Ms Ehindero said that automating and optimising the NELFund system aimed to create a more transparent, efficient, and responsive process for loan applications, approvals, and disbursements.

“This is essential for the success of the initiative and will go a long way in ensuring that our students benefit in a timely and accountable manner.

“As members of the House of Representatives Committee on Student Loans, we have been working tirelessly to ensure that the legislative framework supports and facilitates these reforms. However, legislative efforts alone are not enough,” she said.

Executive director of operations at NELFund, Iyal Mustapha, earlier disclosed in his presentation that over 576,058 students have registered, with a total application value of ₦170,437,179,836.

Mr Mustapha urged institutions in the South-East and South-South to improve sensitisation efforts for timely loan applications.

(NAN)