NELFUND Not For Private Varsity Students, Says Provost

The Provost of Harvarde College of Science and Management Studies, Obada, Abeokuta, Dr Oluwatosin Adebayo, has opposed calls for students of private tertiary institutions to benefit from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Adebayo argued that parents who send their children to private universities are financially capable of paying the tuition fees, noting that such students should not be considered for the Federal Government-backed loan scheme.

He made this known on Wednesday during a media parley and facility tour of the institution.

“I won’t support those calling for the extension of NELFUND to students of private institutions,” Adebayo said.

“This is because poor people won’t send their children to where the tuition is as much as N6 million, especially in these private universities. Those parents are well-to-do.

“However, the government can allow private institutions, like their government-owned counterparts, to benefit from TETFund for infrastructural development,” he added.

The provost also suggested that, to prevent alleged corruption in the disbursement of student loans, any funds should be paid directly to verified students after their enrolment is confirmed by the institution.

“I will also advise that, due to the alleged corruption involved in the disbursement of the student loan, the Federal Government should pay directly to each benefitting student once the institution has confirmed the authenticity of such students,” he said.

Addressing the controversy that rocked the college two years ago over unapproved Nursing and Law programmes, Adebayo blamed what he described as “bad elements” for the crisis.

He stated that the institution had since stopped offering the two unapproved courses but had reapplied to offer them again.

“All the courses currently run at the college are accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE),” Adebayo said.

He listed the accredited courses as Accountancy, Economics and Management, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Business Administration, Crime Management, Public Administration, and Banking and Finance.

Adebayo further said the college continues to invest heavily in human capital, infrastructure, and teaching aids to improve the quality of learning.