The Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, gave this advice on Monday in Abuja.
He spoke at the NELFUND Women Forum Programme, held in celebration of the 2025 International Women’s Day (IWD).
Sawyerr was represented by Ms Oluwatosin Sanusi, NELFUND’s Head of Investments and Funds Management.
He said that the ratio of females in tertiary institutions accessing the loans compared to males was not impressive.
According to him, one out of every five application for the education loan fund is a female, which is not encouraging.
“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.
“There is also another part of the initiative which is the skill acquisition.
“And it is under way and it would also cover educational fees and fund purchases of equipments for entrepreneurship trainings.
“The skills acquisition programme places students on a monthly stipend, which is laudable; however, we have less women who are taking advantage of this initiative.
“Currently we have a ratio of 4 to 1, which means for every four male applicant, we have just one female, which isn’t impressive,” he said.
Sawyerr said that NELFUND was working with women stakeholders to create awareness on the initiative to encourage female students to partake and enjoy the benefits of the dividends of democracy.
However, he emphasised that loan repayment upon graduation and employment was crucial for the sustainability of the programme.
Sawyerr explained that timely repayment would allow for the expansion of the initiative, enabling more students across all government-owned institutions to benefit.
He further stated that the education loan fund was accessible to students at various levels in universities and polytechnics within federal and state-owned institutions.
According to him, the skill acquisition loan is not limited to tertiary students alone.
The Minister of State for Education, Dr Suwaiba Ahmed, lauded the federal government’s initiative.
She encouraged students to utilize the fund to ensure uninterrupted studies due to financial constraints.
Ahmed was represented by Dr Mufida Hussain, his Special Assistant on Education and Quality Assurance.
She said that the girl-child must optimise all opportunities presented, in order to break barriers and attain desired dreams and aspirations in life.
“Achieving gender equity requires bold, swift and decisive steps, and we cannot afford to wait.
“So, we must act now to break barriers and create opportunities for women and girls,” Ahmed said.
She said that the federal government was committed to gender equity and had invested in gender balanced initiatives.
The National President of Female Students of Nigeria, Ms Choice Enebeli, commended NELFUND for advocating for female students to apply and benefit from the education loan.
“Women’s rights are humans 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 promised to lead an awareness campaign on the educational loan across the country, for the benefits of female students.
, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, Mrs Chioma Nweze, urged female students to be proactive in seeking opportunities rather than waiting for them.
She encouraged them to take advantage of available opportunities and expand them for the benefit of other women.
According to her, women should not wait to be offered opportunities but should take initiative and claim them. (NAN)
