Private university students also deserve NELFund, says Bowen VC

The Vice Chancellor of Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Prof. Jonathan Babalola, has faulted the Federal Government’s exclusion of private university students from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

Babalola said students of private and public institutions are Nigerians, deserving equal opportunities, adding that the loans given to public university students are sourced through taxes paid by private individuals.

The VC stated this on Wednesday while briefing journalists on the activities of the 20th convocation ceremony of the university coming up on Saturday.

NELFUND was established to implement the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024.

The Tinubu-led administration’s initiative provides interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions to cover tuition and living expenses.

The scheme, which began accepting applications in May 2024, was designed to eliminate financial barriers to education and support students from low-income families.

Beneficiaries are expected to repay the loans after completing their studies and gaining employment.

Commenting further on the development, Babalola said it was insincerity on the part of the Federal Government to deny private university students access to Nelfund, noting that indigent students were also in private institutions.

“It is insincerity from the federal government to say that private universities cannot benefit from it. Nelfund should be made available for students in both public and private universities. We are all Nigerian, and why discriminate between students in private and public universities?

“The government should be fair. It is an injustice. On this same campus in Bowen University, I met a student who only eats once a day, but because his parents collect loans to finance his education and send him here, you are denying him. Not all students in private universities have the money; some of them are indigents,” Babalola said.

Highlighting events for the 20th convocation of the university, the VC said 1,064 students across various disciplines at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels would be released during the ceremonies.

Giving other details about the graduands, Babalola said 143 students will graduate with First Class Honours, 394 with Second Class Honours (Upper Division), 221 with Second Class Honours (Lower Division), 69 with Third Class Honours, and 05 with Pass.

“In programmes such as Physiotherapy and Nursing Science, where degrees are specially classified, 30 students achieved Distinction, 80 students earned Credit, and 3 students obtained a Pass, successfully meeting the academic standards required for
graduation.

“66 students from the College of Health Sciences are being awarded the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB; BS) degree.18 candidates are graduating with Postgraduate Diplomas, 26 students are being conferred with Master’s degrees, while 9 scholars have earned the Doctor of Philosophy degree,” he added.

Speaking on some of the academic recognition by the institution, the Vice Chancellor said for the 6th consecutive year, Bowen University has produced scholars listed among the Top 2% of Scientists in the World, a prestigious recognition jointly compiled by Stanford University and Elsevier.

He also said 13 staff members of Bowen University were listed among the Top 500 Authors in Nigeria between 2021 and 2025 by SCOPUS/SCiVal, based on their scholarly output and research impact.

Lauding members of staff of the university for their dedication, the VC said the convocation would be the last for the Registrar of the University, Mr. Babatunde Adeona, the University Librarian, Dr. Aderonke Otunla, and the institution’s Chaplain, Rev. Dr. Gideon Akanbi, who have all completed their five-year tenure.

The PUNCH reports on October 28, 2025, that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund announced significant progress in its student loan scheme, with over ₦116.4 billion disbursed to beneficiaries since the portal launch on May 24, 2024.

According to the Daily Status Report released on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, via its official X handle, NELFUND said a total of 929,805 applications have been received, out of which 624,535 students have benefited from the programme.

The report indicated that 12,398 new successful applications were recorded, representing a 1.4% increase in new applications from the previous day.

As of October 9, 2025, NELFUND said it has paid ₦65.3 billion to 239 institutions as tuition fees, while an additional ₦51.1 billion has been disbursed as upkeep allowances to students, bringing the total loan disbursement to ₦116.4 billion.

PUNCH Online earlier reported that the fund had announced the official opening of its student loan application portal for the 2025/2026 academic session.

The agency, in a statement issued on Tuesday by its Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, said the application window will run from Thursday, October 23, 2025, to Saturday, January 31, 2026.

Source: Punch