NELFund to develop loan software for students with disability

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is developing specialised software to ensure students with disabilities in higher education can access its loan scheme, officials have said.

Akintunde Sawyerr, NELFund’s managing director, announced the initiative during a stakeholders’ meeting in Benin City, Edo state.

He said the fund is working with the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to implement the project.

“We want to make it easier for visually impaired students to apply for the loan. We are looking at specific software to facilitate this,” he said.

Sawyerr described the loan scheme, established under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, as a transformative step in making tertiary education accessible to all.

He reassured attendees that students would not be denied funding due to financial constraints.

“The law states that if a beneficiary dies, the loan is not transferred to their family—it is wiped out,” he added.

Dennis Idahosa, Edo state deputy governor, commended the initiative, crediting Tinubu and former speaker of the house of representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, for making it a reality.

“Before now, many families struggled to pay school fees,” he said.

“As a state government, we will collaborate on aggressive sensitization to ensure students benefit from the scheme.”