NELFUND express worry over low turnout in Rivers State University

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND has expressed worries over the low turnout of student loan applications in River State University.

The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintude Sawyerr made this known during the strategic engagement and sensitisation campaign held in Port Harcourt on Tuesday about operations of the fund.

The Managing Director who was represented by the Director of Administration of NELFUND, Dr Zino Ugboma, said the main purpose of the visit was to build rapport with the University.

Sawyerr said that the data presented showed a low registration rate, noting that University of Port Harcourt has 3000 applicants while Rivers State University has 1500 applicants.

He said, “Going through our records, we discovered something that is not too pleasant about your university. For a university, we have up to 4,000 applicants, people who have registered.

“At the University of Port Harcourt, we have up to 3,000 people who have registered for this scheme. And then for Rivers State University, we have approximately 1,500 NELFUND applicants.

“For this reason, the managing director has asked that we come here and have a talk with the university management.

“We want to know what the problem is. The money is there, it’s meant to be disbursed to these young people. Let us work together to solve this.”

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Isaac Zeb-Obipi while responding to this confirmed the disturbing gap in student engagement and promised honesty and collaboration to deal with the issue.

Prof Isaac who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof Victor Akujuru, said the meeting marked a turning point in the relationship between the two institutions.

He said, “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 a difference, 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 specifically requested the attendance of the Director of ICT and the head of student affairs.

“Their presence is a signal of the university’s preparedness to both explain the challenges and seek solutions.”

In view of the, the University’s Director of ICT, Prof Sunny Orike, said that many students failed to follow several steps involved in the application process for the loan.

He said, “We communicate and share ideas on our platform. We’ve designated a space in the city centre where students can come in and engage with our systems.

“We are committed to making that experience seamless, consistent, and accessible.”

In addition, the President of the Student Union confirmed the Union’s support for the student loan scheme while adding that information concerning the loan has been disseminated both formally and informally to students.