The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Professor Edoba Omoregie (SAN), has described the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as a major public policy achievement, arguing that its structure offers advantages over student loan systems in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

Omoregie, however, expressed disappointment over the level of interest shown by students in accessing the scheme, despite its potential to ease the financial burden of tertiary education.

He explained that NELFUND stands out because of its application process, the grace period before repayment begins and the arrangement for recovering the money from beneficiaries after they secure employment.

According to him, the scheme is designed to prevent students from facing immediate repayment pressure while they are still studying or unemployed.

The vice-chancellor praised President Bola Tinubu for signing the initial student loan legislation introduced during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and subsequently supporting the development of a revised version.

Omoregie said he was part of the technical team involved in reviewing the original legislation, which he noted contained provisions that could have limited the scheme’s effectiveness.

He explained that the earlier version included requirements for guarantees from applicants and restrictions on the amount they could access, while support for students’ upkeep was also limited.

He said the revised legislation addressed some of those concerns by introducing provisions intended to make the scheme more accessible to students and their sponsors.

Omoregie described NELFUND as an interest-free facility, arguing that its repayment structure made it less burdensome than some student loan arrangements abroad.

He said beneficiaries would not be required to begin repayments until they started working, after which deductions would be made from a portion of their earnings rather than demanding repayment in a lump sum.

The vice-chancellor suggested that the scheme could eventually attract international attention because of its design and approach to student financing.

He also argued that the programme could be viewed more as educational assistance than a conventional commercial loan, given its interest-free structure and provisions for delaying repayment.

His comments come amid ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to expand access to tertiary education through NELFUND, which provides financial support to eligible students attending public higher institutions.

Despite praising the programme, Omoregie’s concerns about the level of participation highlight the need for greater awareness among students about the scheme and the process for accessing its benefits.