‘Troubling statistics’ — NELFUND decries low applications from Rivers state university

Akintunde Sawyerr, the managing director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), has raised concerns over the low student loan application at the Rivers State University.

Speaking on Tuesday during a strategic engagement and sensitisation campaign on operations of the fund in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital, Sawyerr said available data showed that University of Port Harcourt has 3,000 applications while the Rivers State University has 1,500.

Represented by Zino Ugboma, director of administration at NELFUND, Sawyerr said while the primary purpose of the visit was to strengthen ties with the university, noted that the statistics are troubling.

“Going through our records, we discovered something that is not too pleasant in relation to your university. For a university, we have up to 4,000 applicants, people who have registered to this team,” he said.

“At the University of Port Harcourt, we have up to 3,000 people who have registered to this team. And then for Rivers State University, we have approximately 1,500 applicants.

“For this reason, the managing director has asked that we come here and have a talk with the university management,” he said.

Sawyerr called for a stronger discussion to identify and resolve the issues.

“We want to know what the problem is, the money is there. It’s meant to be disbursed to these young people. Let us work together to solve this,” he said.

Isaac Zeb-Obipi, vice-chancellor of the university, acknowledged a troubling gap in student engagement and pledged transparency and collaboration to address the issue.

Represented by Victor Akujuru, the deputy vice-chancellor, administration, the VC said the meeting marked a critical point in the relationship between the two institutions.

He promised that both organisations would work collaboratively in the coming weeks to address the concerns raised.

“We are again grateful for flagging our university’s situation and for taking the time to look in on us to find out why we are lagging behind,” he said.

“I must admit that the figures are quite a difference, 1,500 out of a nearly 40,000 student capacity is a concern.

“In a show of readiness to confront the problem, the Vice Chancellor had specifically requested the attendance of the Director of ICT and the head of student affairs.

“Their presence is a signal of the university’s preparedness to both explain the challenges and seek solutions.”

Sunny Orike, the university’s director of ICT, noted that the application process involved multiple steps which many students failed to follow through.

“We communicate and share ideas on our platform. We’ve designated a space in the city centre where students can come in and engage with our systems,” Orike said.

“And we are committed to making that experience seamless, consistent, and accessible.”

To address the gaps, he said the ICT team is preparing a more structured approach to ensure that students are not left on their own during key academic processes.

He added that the institution had set up designated systems and spaces where staff could directly assist students in real time.

“We don’t want them doing it alone. We’re planning to tag students, assist with form applications, and ensure compliance with all steps—memo issuance, communication, and follow-through,” he said.

The director acknowledged the role of ongoing training and compliance, stressing the need for both students and staff to be better equipped for the transition to more digital and centralized systems.

Rizi Owabie, president of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), reaffirmed the union’s support for the government-backed funding programme, emphasising continued efforts to raise awareness among students.

Owabie noted that information had been disseminated both formally and informally, including during student receptions and one-on-one interactions, while promising to intensify its awareness creation on the importance of the loan.