NELFUND to launch job portal to support student loan beneficiaries

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has pledged its commitment to helping beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s student loan programme secure employment.

The initiative, the agency said, aims to ensure that beneficiaries can repay their loans without difficulties.

Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, stated this while addressing questions from tertiary institution students on the operations of the loan scheme.

The Guardian reports that at a joint public hearing organised by the National Assembly for the reenactment of the Students’ Loan Bill 2024, some stakeholders, including the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), expressed concerns about beneficiaries’ ability to repay the loan, given the unemployment rate in the country.

Speaking over the weekend, the Fund’s Chief Executive Officer said the agency is taking a proactive approach to empower students to repay their loans, thereby reducing the risk of default.

He noted that by connecting beneficiaries with job opportunities, the government is helping to create a more sustainable and self-sufficient education loan system.

His words: “We are saying that for the entirety of the course, if a person applies today, it’s zero percent interest. If they come back for their 200 level, it remains at zero percent interest. In the future, we might change the interest rate but not for those who have applied now. We will follow through on the promise that takes it all the way through to the end of the course.

“The loan needs to be paid back. It can only be paid back if the person who took the loan is earning an income. So the provision of the law is that nobody is required to start paying this loan back until two years after they have completed their NYSC. What this means is that if a person completes their NYSC and, two years later, they are due to start paying the loan back, if they don’t have a job, they don’t pay back. NELFUND doesn’t come after people who don’t have a job, or gainful employment, to pay back. After the two-year point, you inform us that you still haven’t got a job. As NELFUND, we will try to connect you to work. We will try to connect you to jobs because it is in our best interest for you to get a job.”

While stressing that the programme is not a slave contract, Sawyerr pointed out that the online processes, which eliminate human contact, will help prevent corruption.

The Managing Director explained that if the Fund detects significant funds entering the loan recipients’ bank accounts yet the individual claims no income or employment two years after completion of NYSC, it reserves the right to deduct the outstanding loan balance from the recipient’s bank account to recover the funds.

“We do ask for a mandate that allows us access to the accounts of those who are taking these loans. And if we find that large amounts of money are going into the account and the person is saying that they haven’t got a job or income, we reserve the right to take what is owed to NELFUND and pull it back out of the bank account into the NELFUND account.

“It is important that if a loanee wants to pay their loan back the day after they graduate, while they are still studying, or when they have money before they even do NYSC, they are welcome to pay back,” he stated.

While stressing that the credit facility is not allocated based on a quota system, the NELFUND boss noted that it is unethical to compel individuals to accept the loan. “The law requires that there is geographical spread. People who access this loan can come from anywhere. What we are doing is to ensure that we bring this equal opportunity to everyone in Nigeria. It is worth noting that it is unethical to force people to take loans. If a whole state, local government, tribe, or religious group decides that they don’t want to take the loan for whatever reason, there is very little we can do. But we are going to bring the opportunity to everybody,” he said.

Meanwhile, The Guardian investigation showed that the Fund is nearing the launch of a job portal aimed at connecting loan beneficiaries with employment opportunities, facilitating loan repayment post-graduation.

According to a source who requested anonymity, borrowers will receive a unique identification for priority access to job listings, allowing them to explore openings.

“We will try to attract jobs from Dubai, Scotland, the United States, and all over the world, and ask them to post them on our portal.

“Our priority will be the borrowers. Everybody that takes a loan has a unique ID. When you put your unique ID into that portal, it will allow you to access a place where you will be able to see the job before anybody else,” the source hinted.

President Bola Tinubu had in April this year signed into law the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024.

The cardinal programme seeks to address the challenge of financial constraints in accessing higher education by providing interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions struggling to pay fees, as well as a monthly stipend of N20,000.

The Guardian reports that 1.2 million students from federal and state universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education are expected to benefit from the first phase of the scheme.

Checks on the agency’s website showed that as of Sunday, November 3, 2024, 262 federal and state universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education have been onboarded, resulting in 383,581 students’ registrations and 288,537 loan applications.