An orphan studying Primary Education at Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, Anambra State, Amarachukwu Imana, has recounted how the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND)) helped her pursue her dream of becoming a graduate despite financial difficulties.

Imana, who spoke with A Promise Kept Television, a weekly TV magazine programme of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the student loan scheme had enabled her to pay her school fees without stress and meet other academic expenses, including departmental dues.

“By the grace of God, I am a beneficiary of NELFUND from the 2024/2025 academic session to date, and my feelings are immeasurable because I am an orphan, and education has always been my dream,” she said.

She added that the financial support had made it possible for her to remain in school and work towards achieving her ambition of becoming a graduate.

Imana’s experience is one of several testimonials from beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s student loan scheme, who have described its impact on their education and families.

Another beneficiary, Simi Dalyop, said NELFUND had eased the financial burden on her mother following the death of her father, which made paying her school fees increasingly difficult.

Dalyop, who also spoke with A Promise Kept Television, described the intervention as a major relief, explaining that the disbursement of her school fees had removed the uncertainty surrounding how to finance her education.

“Before NELFUND, paying my fees had been very difficult. The scheme has helped ease the financial burden on my mum because, during that period, I lost my dad, and the financial burden was too much,” she said.

“When my school fees were disbursed, I was very happy and relieved because I no longer had to worry about paying them.”

She added that she had introduced her friends to the scheme and helped some of them apply after experiencing its benefits.

The scheme has also provided relief to parents struggling to finance their children’s education.

Blessing Uchenna, a mother whose daughter, Uchenna Castel, is a 200-level Software Engineering student at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), said she had to borrow money to secure her daughter’s admission because she could not afford the initial expenses.

Uchenna said the situation was so difficult that she had to seek financial assistance from friends and acquaintances to prevent her daughter from losing the admission.

She said she learnt about NELFUND through a friend who told her about the government’s intervention for students facing financial difficulties.

“When my daughter got admission, it was not easy for me to pay. I had to borrow money from people so that she would not lose her admission,” she said.

She explained that the funds paid towards her daughter’s school fees were refunded to the family through the university, enabling her to repay those who had lent her money.

“The university refunded the money to us, and I used it to pay back the people I borrowed money from,” she explained.