Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono has clarified that the Student Loan program was being expanded to cover non-formal schools, hence the delay in its take-off.
Echono disclosed this on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, while fielding questions from journalists at TETFund Headquarters in Abuja.
TheFact Daily recalls that there had been news making rounds that the government had suspended the Loan indefinitely after the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) spoke in an interview with ARISE NEWS.
According to Echono, “when the Act to establish the Scheme was passed, few issues came up based on consultation with various stakeholders on sources of funding, operationalisation and so on and we didn’t want to start a program and then some people are raising objections about how or whether certain things are consistent but those have been refined”.
He disclosed that there was a need for a bit of amendment, also, “they’ve been fast-tracked. The process has been done in terms of the review of that Act and an expedited action is in place to ensure that the National Assembly gives its blessing, so we can be seen to be acting in full concert but we are discussing matter of days or maximum weeks, not an indefinite suspension”, the TETFund Boss said.
Speaking further, he hinted that preparation was in top gear and that not less than 140,000 beneficiaries would be recorded in the first year of the program’s take-off:
“As we speak, In the first year, not less than 140,000 would be able to benefit from this, compared to when I was in the education ministry I can tell you that no year did we go beyond 5,000 with the scholarship scheme and this is going to be interest-free.
“We’ve gone through the platforms, to see if everything is in place, it’s running its life, you can actually apply today if we choose to launch it. But We have a few cases but the majority we have synchronized with JAMB, we know when the main admission is going to take place, JAMB is going to do their exams so the bulk of the applications will come when you must have secured admission which is going to come up after May.
“So we have not really lost so much time, most students in school now have already paid their school fees for this session but we recognise that there are a few cases that may have challenges and I am aware that the window is going to be open for them to quickly be among the first to access so that they can get this done”, he said.
The TETFund also said, “Mr president is very committed to this and we are even looking beyond the existing students in our formal schools to go to the skills Sector and it’s going to be a whole new game changer. Just like the intervention in the telecommunications opened new value chains, this is going to open a new value change in the skills Sector where those running institutions, those training, artisans, and skillsmen would be able to guarantee that they can train these people, give Nigerians skills so they can contribute in making this wealth.
“As I speak, there are even plans to go beyond that, that going forward, after we solve the immediate problems currently, going forward, even our social Investment platform will be now tied to some form of skills acquisition, we want to empower people so that they can learn to fish rather than wait for you to come and give them fish.
“These are the long-term plans that Mr president has approved and that is why it’s taking a little bit of time to synchronize all of these because with these we will now have to expand the capacity of the platform to accommodate these other new areas about skills that was not in the original plan when the law was made. I can assure you that in the next couple of weeks, you’re going to hear what is happening”.
