The Senator representing Anambra North Senatorial District, Tony Nwoye, has decried the lack of interest in the student loan programme by people of the South East.
Tony Nwoye said only 297 students from federal high institutions in Anambra State out of 43, 824 eligible students registered for the student loan programme.
Naija News reported that out of 27,000 students, across 19 federal high institutions, that received funding from the Nigerians Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), no South East student or federal high institution received funding.
Following the report, Nwoye appealed to Ndigbo to embrace the federal government’s programme.
On Sunday, in a statement, Nwoye said, “My dear good people of Anambra North Senatorial District, Ndi Anambra and South East in Nigeria in general, it has become increasingly imperative to inform us, particularly our young people who are students at various federal government-owned tertiary institutions in Anambra North Senatorial District, Anambra State as well as in South East in general about the need to explore the opportunities available to them through the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
“NELFUND was designed by the Federal Government to alleviate the financial burdens faced by those who aspire to further their education.
“This fund is intended to provide the financial support necessary to ease the challenges and burdens our students encounter in pursuing their academic goals.
“However, it is very disheartening to note that the available data reveals that applications from our Senatorial District, Anambra State and South East are significantly lower when compared to other States and regions.”
He further called on students of South East and federal high institutions to enroll in the student loan programme. He explained that the gap has to be closed. He advised that there should be no fear from the students of the region of the loan programme.
“To this end, we need to proactively bridge the gap as contained in NELFUND comprehensive data which pointed out that out of about 43,824 students from several institutions in Anambra State such as: Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Federal Polytechnic Oko, Federal Technical College Umunze and Nwafor Orizu College of Education Nsugbe, who are eligible to access the federal government student loan, just a paltry 297 students applied for the loan, representing 99.33% shortfall and 0.68% successful submission of applications respectively.
“NELFUND is specifically tailored to cover the payment of school fees directly to educational institutions and also provides students with a monthly stipend to cover living expenses. This initiative is expected to significantly contribute to the realization of educational dreams among our youth.
“In light of this, I strongly urge all eligible students from our state and senatorial district and South East region to apply and take full advantage of this beneficial program,” Nwoye added.
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