Students’ loan: Delta Poly rector calls for targeted approach 

The Rector, Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara, Professor Emmanuel Ufuophu-Biri, has emphasised the need for the Federal Government’s student loans programme to prioritise financially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.

This, he said, should be restricted to students who genuinely need financial assistance.

Ufuophu-Biri advised that the scheme should be restricted to students from low-income backgrounds, rather than being universally available, to maximize its impact on those who are most economically disadvantaged.

In an interview with The Guardian, the Professor of Mass Communication and Journalism applauded the Federal Government’s efforts to support students in furthering their education with ease.

He, however, harped on the need for sensitisation of the programme to the grassroots, using the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), and Students Union Governments of individual tertiary institutions as points of contacts.

“I had a sideline discussion with the Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the President of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).

“I saw in them the genuine pursuit and intention for the Nigerian students to gain from this loan. In the first place, this is what we read of in other climes.

“However, from what I have come to see and know of loans outside this country, student loan is not general. You can’t have somebody whose father is a billionaire applying for such a loan. It should be limited to some extent to relatively disadvantaged people to be able to pay.

“It should actually be for students who are less able than others to pay their fees. As it is right now, it is general. The heads of institutions, NANS, and SUGs in different institutions should encourage students to subscribe to it.”