The University of Benin, Edo State, has confirmed the receipt of N24.4m from the Nigerian Education Loans Fund as loans for 332 students of the institution.
UNIBEN Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lilian Salami, disclosed this in a letter sighted by our correspondent on Thursday.
“I write to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the sum of N24,412,500, being the payment of school charges and upkeep for 332 students of the University of Benin, who have applied for loans under the Nigerian Education Loans Fund Scheme.
“The university management appreciates the Fund’s consideration of our students’ applications and assures you of our commitment to the academic success of these students.
“The university commends the laudable effort of the Federal Government to raise the standard of the students and the tertiary education system,” the VC wrote in the letter dated August 11, 2024, and addressed to the Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr.
The student loan scheme is President Bola Tinubu’s flagship project in the education sector.
Barely a month after his inauguration as President, Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, which created a legal framework for granting loans to indigent or low-income Nigerians to facilitate the payment of their fees in Nigerian tertiary institutions.