The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has commenced a nationwide sensitisation campaign targeting 34 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), as well as military, police and immigration barracks, to increase awareness of its student loan scheme.
The Director of SERVICOM at NELFUND, Olusola Fowobaje, disclosed this during a sensitisation engagement tagged “Roadshow” with civil servants at the Ministry of Regional Development in Abuja.
Fowobaje said the initiative was designed to take information about the Fund’s educational financing opportunities directly to government employees, parents and guardians to encourage more eligible Nigerians to benefit from the scheme.
He explained that the campaign would cover 34 ministries before extending to military formations, police and immigration barracks across the country.
According to him, the roadshow is part of the management’s efforts to ensure that civil servants understand the objectives and benefits of the student loan programme and, in turn, educate their children and dependants about the opportunity.
“We are covering 34 ministries, and he said further that we should cover all the barracks, military barracks, police barracks, immigration, and what have you. And we are doing that. We are much more than capable of handling that,” he said.
Fowobaje explained that the student loan scheme has two major components: institutional fees and upkeep allowances.
He said that while the institutional loan covers approved school fees, eligible beneficiaries also receive a monthly upkeep allowance of N20,000.
The SERVICOM director dismissed misconceptions surrounding the scheme, assuring prospective beneficiaries that accessing the government-backed loan would not prevent them from travelling or expose them to arrest.
He also said the application process was technology-driven, transparent and accessible, stressing that applicants did not need personal connections or special intervention to secure the facility.
Fowobaje added that the sensitisation campaign would extend beyond Abuja to all regions of the country, noting that direct engagement with civil servants and security personnel would strengthen information dissemination and encourage wider participation.
He said the initiative was part of NELFUND’s broader commitment to reducing financial barriers to higher education and addressing situations where students are forced to abandon their studies because of financial constraints.
According to him, improving access to educational financing would promote equitable access to quality education, strengthen human capital development, increase productivity and help tackle challenges associated with illiteracy and insecurity.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development, Mary Ada Ogbe, represented by the Acting Director of Community Development and Education, said the engagement was organised to provide ministry officials with comprehensive information about the loan scheme and its benefits.
She explained that the meeting, organised in collaboration with NELFUND, was the first phase of a broader sensitisation exercise that would subsequently be extended to other employees of the ministry.
Ogbe said the ministry considered it important to familiarise directors and heads of units with the scheme so they could effectively disseminate information to other staff members and guide eligible parents and guardians on how to access the facility.
She urged participants to take advantage of the engagement by seeking clarification on issues surrounding the scheme, while assuring NELFUND of the ministry’s readiness to collaborate towards ensuring wider awareness and participation.
