The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has raised concerns over the low student loan applications at the Rivers State University.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this yesterday during the Strategic Engagement and Sensitisation Campaign on the Fund in Port Harcourt operations.
Represented by Dr. Zino Ugboma, Director, Administration, NELFUND, Sawyerr said while the primary purpose of the visit was to strengthen ties with the university, a recent internal review revealed troubling statistics related to student participation in their programmes.
He explained that the data presented showed a low registration rate, noting that the University of Port Harcourt received 3,000 applications while Rivers State University received 1,500.
“Going through our records, we discovered something that is not too pleasant about your university. We have up to 4,000 applicants for a university who have registered for this team.
“At the University of Port Harcourt, we have up to 3,000 registered for this team. Then, for Rivers State University, we have approximately 1,500 applicants.
“For this reason, the managing director has asked that we come here and talk with the university management,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of the visit, the managing director called for a stronger discussion to identify and resolve the issues.
“We want to know the problem; the money is there. It’s meant to be disbursed to these young people. Let us work together to solve this,” he said.
Responding, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Isaac Zeb-Obipi, acknowledged a troubling gap in student engagement and pledged transparency and collaboration to address the issue.
Represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Prof Victor Akujuru, he said the meeting marks a critical point in the relationship between the two institutions.
He promised that both organisations would work collaboratively to address the concerns raised in the coming weeks.
We are again grateful for flagging our university’s situation and for taking the time to look in on us to find out why we are lagging.
“I must admit that the figures are quite different.
1,500 out of a nearly 40,000-student capacity is a concern.
“In a show of readiness to confront the problem, the Vice Chancellor had explicitly requested the attendance of the Director of ICT and the head of student affairs.
“Their presence signals the university’s preparedness to explain the challenges and seek solutions,“ he affirmed.
The Student Union Government (SUG) President, Rizi Owabie, reaffirmed the union‘s support for the government-backed funding programme, emphasising continued efforts to raise student awareness.
Owabie noted that information had been disseminated formally and informally, including during student receptions and one-on-one interactions, while promising to intensify its awareness of the importance of the loan.
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