NELFUND to deploy software for students with disabilities

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says plans are underway to introduce specialised software to ensure that students with disabilities in higher institutions can fully take advantage of its loan scheme.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement on student loans in Benin City, Edo State.

Sawyerr emphasised that the Act establishing the loan scheme guarantees equal opportunity for all, adding that NELFUND will collaborate with the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to ensure more inclusivity.

“We want to see how we can make it easier for those visually impaired, so that they can actually apply for the loan. We are looking at a specific software we are going to use,” he said.

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During the event, which brought together religious leaders, parents, persons with disabilities, government officials, teachers and community representatives, Sawyerr described the initiative under President Bola Tinubu’s administration as a transformative step for education in Nigeria.

Addressing concerns about loan repayment in the event of a beneficiary’s death, he said: “The law says that if the very person dies, that loan is not transferred to the family or anyone else. The loan is wiped out.”

Sawyerr reiterated the government’s commitment to making tertiary education accessible to all Nigerians.

Speaking, Edo State deputy governor, Dennis Idahosa, commended the federal government for making the student loan scheme a reality, saying, before now, many families go through a lot of challenges to be able to pay school fees for students across the country.

Meanwhile, speaking during the stakeholders’ engagement, Edo State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Paddy Iyamu, humorously advised parents against having more children simply because the burden of tertiary education costs would be covered by NELFUND.