The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has said its student loan scheme is voluntary, stressing that students who do not need financial assistance are not required to apply.
Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, said this in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja.
She explained that the scheme was established to support eligible Nigerian students struggling to meet the cost of higher education and ensure that financial constraints did not prevent them from pursuing their studies.
According to her, students should decide whether to apply based on their individual financial circumstances and genuine need for assistance.
“Students who do not require financial support are under no obligation to apply for or access the facility,” she said.
Oluwatuyi added that making the loan compulsory for all students, regardless of their financial situation, would contradict the scheme’s purpose.
She stressed that NELFUND was not designed to encourage every student to borrow, but to provide financial assistance to eligible students who genuinely needed it.
“The student loan scheme is a support mechanism, not an obligation,” she said.
The director noted that the loans were interest-free and intended to ease the financial burden of pursuing higher education.
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However, she said beneficiaries were required to repay the loans in accordance with the provisions of the Student Loans Act.
Oluwatuyi urged students to familiarise themselves with the scheme’s terms and conditions before applying, while calling on tertiary institutions, student leaders and other stakeholders to provide accurate information and guide students who needed financial assistance.
She reaffirmed NELFUND’s commitment to ensuring that financial hardship did not prevent eligible Nigerian students from accessing higher education.
