BY BOLA OLAJUWON
THIS year, the initiation and implementation of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) Law, against pessimism from a few tertiary institutions’ unions, witnessed the disbursement of over N110 billion to 613,734 students from tertiary institutions and was lauded by stakeholders. About 2.1 million students are estimated to be catered for by next year. Also, the revelation that over N135 billion in Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) matching grants was yet to be accessed by state governments caused ripples in the education sector were some of the issues that shaped the outgoing year.
Education is the key that unlocks the door for the development of any nation. According to experts, it is the instrument that facilitates political, economic, social and technological development of a country. Education can help a country’s economy grow by increasing productivity and creativity, and by providing a skilled workforce. Countries with higher literacy rates tend to have greater economic development.
Bearing these in mind, the 2024 was an eventful year for the country’s education sector. Issues that shaped the sector include the initiation and implementation of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) law, the revelation that over N135 billion in Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) matching grants was still outstanding to be matched by states, and Ministry of Education’s reversal of policy of ex-Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions from 18 to 16 years.
Also in the news was the Out-of-School Children menace, the approval of N5,128,180,623 by the Federal Government for the funding of 185 successful research proposals under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund National Research Fund 2023 Grant Cycle and N180 billion for Federal Universities of Agriculture and research institutes. The strikes by tertiary institutions’ unions, whose option was seen as the only way to get the government to listen to them, also recorded a place in the year under review.
NELFUND: a giant leap
However, if there is any foremost laudable programme in the country’s education sector recorded by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration in the year, it was initiating and implementing the Student Loan Initiative as he promised during presidential campaigns. NELFUND is a programme established by the Federal Government to break financial barriers in higher education. Through the provision of interest-free loans, the programme is fundamentally reshaping the educational landscape. The scheme, initially signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023, provides interest-free loans to cover institutional fees and a monthly allowance of N20,000 for upkeep. It covers tuition fees, paid directly to the schools, and beneficiaries are expected to begin repaying two years after completing their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, provided they are employed.
The repayment process involves employers deducting 10 per cent of a beneficiary’s salary until the loan is fully repaid. Promising equal access to higher education for all eligible candidates, the scheme was first greeted with disapproval by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
To date, the fund’s managing director, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, said it has so far disbursed about N110 billion to students in public institutions across the country. Sawyerr, who disclosed this while speaking to journalists during inauguration and induction of members of NELFUND Servicom in Abuja, said the figures keep changing as the fund makes disbursement frequently.
“We’ve just approved a new batch, N110 billion, that is going to students in one form or another. About 60 per cent of that is going directly to their institution in full, because we pay 100 per cent of fees. Forty per cent has been disbursed in terms of their actual upkeep. The upkeep figure is slightly behind the total fee.
“Amongst the constituency that we’re responsible for, people in tertiary institutions that are government owned, which are defined as universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, and the rafts of students that are going to be coming in for the next session, we estimate that our commitment to date is to people somewhere in the region of 2.1 million. It’s an estimate, and it gets bigger than that when we start our skills programme, because there we have a lot more.”
His projection came one week after data obtained from NELFUND showed that it has disbursed over N110 billion to 613,734 students from Nigerian tertiary institutions since inception.
The fund has revealed plans by the Federal Government to limit interest-free student loans to courses critical to Nigeria’s growth. Sawyerr explained that the initiative aims to prioritise loans for students pursuing courses aligned with the nation’s developmental needs, rather than those in fields with limited job opportunities and low potential for loan repayment.
He added that about 335,000 students across 127 tertiary institutions have so far benefited from the student loan scheme. Sawyerr noted that the proposed focus on priority courses is not intended to disregard other fields but rather to meet the pressing needs of a developing nation.
“This is not to say we won’t fund other courses, especially those that equip students with skills exportable to other countries. Such individuals could contribute to the Nigerian economy by remitting funds back home,” he stated.
The out-of-school children
To drum home the government’s concern over out-of-school children, Vice President Kashim Shettima described Nigeria’s 25.6 per cent of out-of-school children as a threat to the country’s future. He stated this at a two-day International Conference on Girl-Child Education, held at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, during which he noted that the North had the highest number of figures.
His concern came as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) decried the increasing number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, saying it is now 20.1 million. It noted that this alarming figure positions Nigeria as the country with the highest number of out-of-school children globally.
Speaking on the challenge, UNICEF’s Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Tushar Rane, stated: “Unfortunately, this positions Nigeria with the challenge of having the largest number of out-of-school children globally.” Dr. Tushar further highlighted that only 63 per cent of primary school-age children regularly attend school.
Expressing concern over the increasing dropout rates across all genders at the primary level, he said only 84 per cent of children transition to junior secondary education after completing primary school. He attributed this trend to various factors, including inadequate evidence-based policies, limited budget allocation, teacher and classroom shortages, poor infrastructure, cultural norms, health and safety concerns and child labour.
To address this challenge, UNICEF is collaborating with the Universal Basic Education Commission to develop the “National Framework of Action to Reduce the Number of Out-of-School Children in Nigeria” and the “Retention, Transition, and Completion Model.”
Defaulting state govts and N135b UBEC grants
The revelation that over N135 billion in Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) matching grants was yet to be accessed by state governments caused ripples among education stakeholders. It also called for a deep reflection on the commitment of the state governments to education, particularly at the state level.
In a report, UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, revealed that a staggering sum of N135,540,905,308.92 in matching grants was not accessed by states between 2020 and 2024. He expressed concern that many states had failed to meet the necessary conditions to access these funds, leaving much-needed resources untapped for educational development. Nine states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had not accessed the 2023 UBE Matching Grant. Abia and Ogun states emerged as prominent defaulters for the period between 2020 and 2023.
Despite the unmatched grants, the Federal Government approved an increase in the statutory allocation of Universal Basic Education matching grants accessible by state governments for infrastructural projects, raising the amount to N3,554,642,584.46.
Ministry bows to pressure, reverts university admission age to 16
The Ministry of Education reverted to status quo on the minimum age for admission into tertiary institutions from 18 to 16 years following the failure of Mamman to buy in the Federal Government and education’s stakeholders into the policy. It also followed the protest from stakeholders at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) policy meeting.
