Private sector partners NELFUND in institutional fees payment for students
Private sector partners NELFUND in institutional fees payment for students
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it is receiving an influx of interest from private sector organisations and philanthropists eager to partner, in financing institutional fees for students nationwide.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Sawyerr said individuals, companies, and charitable groups have expressed readiness to collaborate in expanding access to education for underprivileged Nigerians.
According to him, several private companies and wealthy Nigerians have approached NELFUND to use its platform to pay the fees of students they do not personally know.
He said the development marked a new phase of public-private collaboration in education financing.
“We have also had a number of people who received loans from the old scheme in the 70s who have given us cheques.
“They believe that in giving us money or paying off their loans of 50 years ago, in some cases, shows that they are having some level of trust in government,” he said
The NELFUND boss said such partnerships would help to sustain the scheme and expand its impact, particularly for indigent students who might otherwise drop out of school.
“We see this as a veritable platform to be able to pay fees using money from the government and the private sector.
“In terms of sustainability, what I can tell you is that this programme will be best sustained with public-private-partnership.
“The private sector is also going to benefit, largely by having people who are better educated to be employed in to their workforce” he said
On NELFUND success story, Sawyerr said they have been able to reduce the number of people dropping out of school,
“A number of people have graduated from various institutions because the Fund came to their rescue.
“You would be amazed at the number of people that were going to drop out in their final year that took advantage of the loan and the Fund rescued them
“I think at this point, I should give credit to President Bola Tinubu for being visionary to positively affect the lives of many Nigerians,” he said .
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VMT NEWS reports there are multiple funding streams, including tax, levy, government budget, and potential external grants that give NELFUND a more diverse and potentially sustainable financial base.
Under the new National Taxation Act, a four per cent development levy is imposed on company profits and NELFUND is slated to receive 25 per cent of the proceeds from this levy.
NELFUND also receives funding via the federal government’s annual budget. For example, in the 2025 budget, the government allocated ₦175.13 million to the Fund.
According to its founding legislation, NELFUND can also be funded via donations, gifts, grants, endowments, and “revenue accruing to the fund from any other source.”
The law also allows NELFUND to engage in “other productive activities” to generate income.
In August, 2024, the Fund received ₦50 billion from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to help expand the loan scheme.
