The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has suggested that some parents may be unaware that their children have received financial support through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Oyedele made the comment during a media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday while responding to a participant who said his three children in tertiary institutions had not benefited from NELFUND and that they did not know anyone who had received funding from the scheme.
The minister advised the parent to first establish whether his children had applied for the programme and to ask them to provide evidence of their applications.
“It is possible they’ve collected the money, and they are collecting from you,” Oyedele said.
He added that parents should have an open conversation with their children about whether they had applied for the government-backed education financing programme.
Oyedele also encouraged students who had not applied to take advantage of the scheme, saying parents could assist them with the application process.
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According to the minister, NELFUND support goes beyond the payment of tuition, as eligible beneficiaries can also receive monthly stipends.
“We’ve seen video of student randomly rejoicing because it’s not only the tuition that was being paid, they get monthly stipend interest free in a high inflationary environment,” he said.
Oyedele said students could access funding of up to N1.5m under the scheme, while urging parents who were unfamiliar with the process to help their children complete the application.
He explained that applicants could access the programme through the NELFUND website and added that officials at the Ministry of Finance could provide assistance where necessary.
“If you can’t find the link, come to Ministry of Finance. We will help you. You will do it yourself. You apply for one of those three children and you get the amount,” he said.
The minister further urged the journalist who raised the issue to verify whether his children had submitted applications before concluding that they had not benefited.
He said the government had received indications that students who successfully applied were receiving alerts confirming disbursements.
Oyedele also disclosed that applications and uptake of the NELFUND scheme were reportedly higher in northern Nigeria than in the southern part of the country.
“Interestingly, the uptake is more in the North than in the South because we spend all our energy here doubting everything that government does,” he said.
The minister said the pattern was notable given the government’s efforts to make the education financing scheme accessible to students across the country.
He also recalled his experience supporting students through a personal foundation, saying some beneficiaries continued to seek financial assistance from him even after he had encouraged them to apply for NELFUND support.
According to Oyedele, some of the students later informed him that they had received alerts after applying through the scheme.
NELFUND was established by the Federal Government to provide financial assistance to eligible Nigerian students in tertiary institutions, with the aim of reducing financial barriers to higher education.
The minister’s comments come amid efforts by the government to increase awareness and uptake of the student financing programme among eligible beneficiaries.
