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The Vice Chancellor of Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Prof. Jonathan Babalola, has faulted the Federal Government’s exclusion of private university students from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Babalola said students of private and public institutions are Nigerians, deserving equal opportunities, adding that the loans given to public university students are sourced through taxes paid by private individuals.
Commenting further on the development, Babalola said it was insincerity on the part of the Federal Government to deny private university students access to Nelfund, noting that indigent students were also in private institutions.
“It is insincerity from the federal government to say that private universities cannot benefit from it. Nelfund should be made available for students in both public and private universities. We are all Nigerian, and why discriminate between students in private and public universities?
“The government should be fair. It is an injustice. On this same campus in Bowen University, I met a student who only eats once a day, but because his parents collect loans to finance his education and send him here, you are denying him. Not all students in private universities have the money; some of them are indigents,” Babalola said.
The VC stated this on Wednesday while briefing journalists on the activities of the 20th convocation ceremony of the university coming up on Saturday.
NELFUND was established to implement the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024.
The Tinubu-led administration’s initiative provides interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions to cover tuition and living expenses.
The scheme, which began accepting applications in May 2024, was designed to eliminate financial barriers to education and support students from low-income families.
Beneficiaries are expected to repay the loans after completing their studies and gaining employment. Punch
