The Edo State Polytechnic in Usen has declared that it will no longer require students who intend to apply for student loans through the Nigeria Education Loan Fund to provide documentation of their fee payments during exams.
The news was made by Sylvester Omoruyi, the rector of the university, at a NELFUND-sponsored awareness-raising event held on Tuesday at the polytechnic’s main campus in Usen.
“The issue of driving students during examination is now over. We will no longer be checking your slips — if you have paid your fees or not. It is just to check the (NELFUND) portal, and if you have registered, there will not be a need to be driven out,” he said.”
Omoruyi congratulated the Edo State government for its support of the initiative and praised President Bola Tinubu for starting it. He also praised NELFUND for providing maintenance allowances and school fee assistance to alleviate the financial strain on Nigerian students.
Akintunde Sawyerr, the NELFUND’s managing director and chief executive officer, voiced his concern that the polytechnic had not yet submitted student data to formally begin the process of registering its students for the program. Sawyerr asked the school to make the most of the new registration cycle for the 2024–2025 academic year by making sure that a large number of students sign up for the program, as represented by Lami Suwaid, Director of Loan Allocation and Distribution.
“During the 2023/2024 session, NELFUND proudly enrolled 259 institutions. We also had disbursement of billions of naira to students,” he said.
Sawyerr called for a change, pointing out that the South-South and South-East regions had the lowest registration rates.
Speaking at the ceremony as well, Dr. Paddy Iyamu, Edo State’s Commissioner for Education, stated that the Edo government is willing to work with NELFUND to further the program’s already-documented successes in Edo State.
“Every Edo child must have access to education. We want to give you the platform (NELFUND) to achieve your dreams and stop school dropouts,” he said.
Iyamu added that with NELFUND’s intervention, students would no longer need to wait on family members outside the country for financial support.
“You don’t need your uncles and aunties in Spain to come and send you money anymore before you go to school. Once you are focused, once you are committed, once you are dedicated, next step, you have a platform to shine,” he said.
Oboh Victor, a Business Administration student at Edo Polytechnic, showed excitement about the loan scheme, stating that many students were eager to utilize the opportunity to pursue their education without financial hindrance.
