THE Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has revealed that only one in five applicants for its funds is female.
The Fund’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday, March 10, during the International Women’s Day celebration.
Sawyerr, represented by Oluwatosin Sanusi, NELFUND’s Head of Investments and Funds Management, said the ratio of females in tertiary institutions accessing the loans compared to males was unimpressive.
“The NELFUND initiative is all about providing loans for students in tertiary institutions to pay for their fees and to take care of their welfare.
“Currently, we have a ratio of four to one, which means for every four male applicants, we have just one female, which isn’t impressive,” he said.
However, Sawyerr said that NELFUND was collaborating with women stakeholders to raise awareness about the initiative.
He encouraged female students to participate and benefit from the loan, which he described as part of dividends of democracy.
The ICIR reported that NELFUND had announced the student loan would be accessible to students of state universities starting June 25, 2024.
It stated that the student loan fund’s website had received over 60,000 applications since its launch, with 30,000 students successfully completing the process to access the loan.
As at February 3, 2025, the Fund revealed that 192,906 students had benefited from the Fund since its launch in 2024.
The ICIR reported that out of the number, N20 billion (N20,074,050,000) was disbursed for institutional fees, which directly benefited 192,906 students across various tertiary institutions.
In its latest update, the Fund introduced a new component of the initiative, focused on skill acquisition, which is not limited to tertiary students alone.
“It is underway, and it would also cover educational fees and fund purchases of equipment for entrepreneurship training.
“The skills acquisition programme places students on a monthly stipend, which is laudable. However, we have fewer women who are taking advantage of this initiative” he added.
He stressed that repaying the loan after graduation and securing employment was essential for the programme’s sustainability, noting that timely repayment would ensure the initiative’s expansion, allowing more students in government-owned institutions to benefit.
Encouraging female students to apply, he explained that the education loan fund was available to students at various levels in universities and polytechnics within federal and state-owned institutions.
Responding, the National President of Female Students of Nigeria, Choice Enebeli, commended NELFUND for encouraging female students to apply for and benefit from education loans.
“Women’s rights are human rights, and we must continue to strive for a world where women and girls have equal access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and leadership positions,” Uchenna said.
She also promised to spearhead a nationwide awareness campaign on educational loans for female students’ benefits.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.