By Olayinka Oyegbile
The Vice Chancellor of Trinity University Yaba, Lagos, Prof Clement Kolawole has decried the exemption of private university students from benefitting from the Federal Government’s Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Speaking ahead of the institution’s fourth graduation ceremony on Monday, March 23, 2026, the Vice Chancellor said it was discriminatory of the government to shut out students of private institutions from the scheme.
According to Prof Kolawole, the education loan was taken from tax paid by all parents whether in private or private institutions, it was therefore a discriminatory policy for the government to deny their wards the benefit of enjoying such loans.
He added that indigent students of the institution were allowed to pay their fees in four instalments thus signifying that it is erroneous to think only children from affluent homes attend private universities.
Prof Kolawole observed that the promoters of the institution are lovers of education and are determined not to lock anyone out of the opportunity to get better education and contribute their quota to the development of the society.
According to him, some students have been allowed to graduate and later pay their owed school fees while working. He emphasized that education is an opportunity the society must not deny anyone willing to get it.
He also advised that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) rather than refunding funds generated from sale of forms to candidates to the federal government should disburse such funds among universities to aid research and innovation efforts.
He is of the opinion that since JAMB was not set up as a revenue generating agency, it should work out a formula of distributing such excess funds among universities according to the number of candidates’ choice of institutions or other formula deemed fit.
He also restated his stand that private universities should be allowed to benefit from TETFund because they are producing graduates to serve the nation’s interests. On the fourth convocation of the university billed for Friday, March 27, 2026, he said a total of 51graduated with First Class, 61 Second Class Upper, and 55 Second Class Lower. Others are to be awarded diplomas. He added that the institution will begin a degree course in Cybersecurity as well as Courier and Logistics Studies.
NELFUND was launched in Jul 2024 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as one of the cardinal points of his administration to make education available to all citizens. This was after the bill was passed into law by the National Assembly. It was one of the first billed the president signed into law after he was sworn in on May 29, 2023.
Speaking at the launch of the scheme, the president said education was a crucial tool in the fight against poverty because it provides vision, development and hope.
Since its establishment NELFUND has disbursed more than N206 billion to students in 270 institutions countrywide, within 23 months of its launch. The latest figures show that 1,751,669 applications have been received since the portal opened in May 2024, out of which 1,164,222 students have successfully benefited from the scheme.
This shows that N128.84 billion has been paid directly to 270 beneficiary institutions as tuition, while N77.45 billion has been released to students as upkeep allowances. According to its administrators, this is to ensure that both academic costs and living expenses are addressed, thus making higher education more accessible to indigent students.
