Just like the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, which is meant to be an intervention agency in the education sector, especially at the tertiary level, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, has been set up to also provide succour for the sector. However, both agencies are not for the benefit of private institutions and theirOpinions are divided as to the propriety or otherwise of the decisions to exclude private institutions and their students from the schemes.
“Though President Bola Tinubu believes the fund is for all Nigerians, some factors have not made us consider including students in private institutions as beneficiaries for now. We must understand that the scheme is a means to redistribute wealth to balance society. We have to also know that it is a social programme meant to help in the education of the poor. It is a social scheme meant to help the people at the lower cadre.
“The scheme is meant for disadvantaged students. Those who send their children and wards to private institutions can afford it. You can see that public universities have a large chunk of our students. Some people pay tuition fees in private schools in foreign currency. If somebody can do that, then it means that the person is well to do. The programme is for those who need such assistance.
To even raise money in the financial market is difficult. That is done at cutthroat rates. Excluding private universities from benefiting from TETFund and now the student loan scheme is not the best. Their parents are taxpayers and we also produce graduates for the benefit of society,” he said.May Day: Labour gives FG May 31 deadline on Minimum Wage