Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has assured that students from the South East geopolitical zone will soon be included in the Federal Government’s student loan scheme. This follows concerns raised by the South East Caucus in the National Assembly regarding the region’s exclusion from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUN) beneficiaries list.
Kalu’s office has engaged NELFUN authorities, identifying low application levels and technical issues, such as incomplete forms and missing JAMB results, as primary reasons for the exclusion. However, affected institutions in the South East are taking corrective measures to address these issues.
Governors and National Assembly members from the region are working to increase awareness and encourage students to apply for the loan. The Deputy Speaker’s office has also launched awareness campaigns, including radio jingles in English, Igbo, and Pidgin English, to promote the loan scheme.
Kalu urged institutions to encourage student applications and stakeholders to set up registration points to increase participation. He assured students and the South East community that necessary steps are being taken to resolve the issue.
Key Statistics:
– Abia State: Low application rates, with only 406 out of 21,342 eligible students applying in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.
– Enugu State: 781 out of 40,769 eligible students applied in University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
– Ebonyi State: 930 out of 19,221 eligible students applied in Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo.
– Imo State: 1,114 out of 27,371 eligible students applied in Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
– Anambra State: 253 out of 39,334 eligible students applied in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
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