The special committee to oversee the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), held an inaugural meeting on Tuesday, with Olayemi Cardoso charging members to work towards the smooth take-off of the scheme on Monday, February 26.
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Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, doubles as the chairman of the special committee. Other statutory members are the executive secretary of the Fund, secretary of the special committee, representatives of the minister of education, and finance, chairman of the National Universities Commission, representatives of the Vice Chancellors’ Forum, as well as the Rectors and Provosts Forum.
Others are the auditor-general of the federation, representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigerian Bar Association, and Academic Staff Union of Universities, (who have written to decline membership of the committee).
Cardoso urged the committee members to use their diverse skills to ensure the success of the scheme.
He stressed the need to deepen ongoing engagements with various stakeholders to achieve a hitch-free rollout of the scheme. The Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act 2023 was signed into law by President Tinubu on June 12, 2023.
The act creates a legal framework for granting loans to indigent or low-income Nigerians to facilitate the payment of their tuition fees. The primary objective of the act is to foster the accessibility of higher education for Nigerian students.
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President Tinubu has asked that the scheme be extended to cover Nigerians undergoing vocational training.
