The Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, has blamed the low uptake of the Nigerian student loan programme in the Southsouth and Southeast regions on a deep-seated cultural aversion to debt.

According to the Don, families in these regions are averse to their children taking on debt, even if it is interest-free.

Georgewill was speaking on Wednesday in Port Harcourt during a Strategic Engagement and Sensitisation Campaign of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

He advised the government to make the programme a repayable grant, noting that this would make parents feel their children were not going to school through a loan.

“This is not a grant, it’s a loan. As a VC, I feel every student should key into this programme.

“Despite our advocacy, the word ‘loan’ is really discouraging students from participating in the scheme.

“We can coin it to be a repayable grant which will make parents feel their children are not going to school through loan,” he said.

Speaking on the allegations of fraud associated with the scheme, he stated that the accusations levelled against universities were misguided, baseless, and potentially damaging to a critical national initiative.

Georgewill stressed that the University of Port Harcourt had maintained a clean record since the programme’s inception.

“Universities are being called names for participating in this programme. But how can I defraud myself with money paid to my university?

“If you pay school fees on behalf of students, the money becomes part of the institution’s operating budget. There is no fraud in that,” he said.

The V-C emphasised that the school charges one of the lowest tuition fees among federal universities, N78,000 per year, and this, he said, made it easier for many families to afford education without loans.

He also noted that out of Uniport’s 40,000 students, only 1,800 are currently benefiting from the loan scheme, making it illogical to claim widespread fraud.

“Why would I be involved in fraud over 1,800 students when 38,000 others are paying their fees directly? The entire NELFUND payment is meant for the student’s fees.”

Addressing concerns about student refunds, the vice chancellor reiterated the institution would only refund a student’s personal payment if it was made before NELFUND disbursed funds on their behalf.

The Vice-Chancellor also criticised systemic misinterpretations, saying accusations were sometimes made without due investigation, while also voicing frustration over reports that paint all universities with the same brush.

The former National Secretary of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), David Bariereka, confirmed that Uniport had not been the subject of any official complaint regarding misappropriation of NELFUND disbursements.

Bariereka, however, acknowledged that other universities have faced allegations where fees paid by NELFUND were not reflected, prompting students to pay out of pocket.

Earlier, the Managing Director, NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, acknowledged that some issues had occurred but maintained that the agency is committed to transparency.

Represented by Dr Zino Ugboma, Director of Administration at NELFUND, Sawyerr added that media narratives and premature conclusions have sometimes done more harm than good.