Some staff and students of the Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa have commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the disbursement of its Student Loan to 130 beneficiaries in the institution.

They gave the commendation on the sidelines of an orientation workshop organised for the 2024/2025 academic calendar’s newly admitted students of the institution on Thursday in Nasarawa Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.

The Guardian reports that the orientation workshop, organised by the Students Union Government (SUG) of the institution, sensitised the new students on how to access President Tinubu’s administration’s Student Loan offer.

The workshop, which had different resource persons, also sensitised the students on the institution’s policies, procedures, decent dressing, the effects of drug abuse and hard drugs, the dangers of cultism and social vices, and proper road use in and outside the school.

In an interview, Mr. Suleiman Mohammed, Acting Director of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the liaison on the disbursement of the loan offer to students in the school, said that so far, 130 students have received loans from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Suleiman, who delivered the lecture on how to access the federal government’s student loan offer, described the development as a welcome one and a lifesaver for poor students who could not afford to pay their tuition fees.

“Some of the beneficiaries are on only school loans, while others are on both school loans and upkeep. This is really a big intervention by the federal government, and we are appreciative of the commencement of disbursement to our students.

READ ALSO: NELFUND disburses N20b to 193,000 undergraduates

“We know it’s a gradual, straightforward process, and more students will be attended to as time goes by. I can also confirm to you that thousands of students have applied, and those whose applications do not have any issues will be given the loan.

“That is why I am here today to sensitize the new students who may be having financial challenges to apply. I really appreciate the SUG for organizing this orientation exercise. It will go a long way for them,” he said.

In another interview, Mr. Nuhu Abdulsamad, President of the Students Union Government, also applauded the federal government for the disbursement of the student loan and vowed to continue sensitising more students on the availability of the loan and how to apply for it.

“We felt the need to create more awareness on this issue. That was why we invited the person in charge of it in this school to come and talk about it and allay the fears and concerns of the students who may still be having doubts or do not know how to apply for it.

“Thank God we heard that more than 100 students have already gotten the loan. That should spur others who really need to apply for it. We really thank the president for this laudable initiative. It has gone a long way for many,” he said.

He then explained that organizing the orientation workshop was necessary to sensitise the newly admitted students on the rules and regulations in the institution.

Also speaking, Miss Cecilia Okoh, a newly admitted student, said that though she has not shown interest in applying for the student loan, she described the offer as well-intended and something that will help many poor students across the country.

She then appreciated the resource persons and the SUG of the institution for organising the orientation, which she said has gone a long way to sensitise new students on a lot of issues.