The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has revealed plans to expand its student loan scheme to include vocational training and skills acquisition programmes. The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, confirmed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja. He said the expansion aligns with the Federal Government’s broader education and skills development agenda aimed at strengthening human capital and improving youth employment opportunities.
Sawyerr noted that the new direction reflects President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to inclusive human capital growth that goes beyond traditional university education. He stressed the importance of technical competence in national development, saying, “No nation is built solely by philosophers. It is very important to have people who can use their hands, energy, strength, and skills to put into action the clever ideas that come from those emerging from academic institutions.”
He explained that although NELFUND has mainly provided financial support to students in tertiary institutions since its launch, work is ongoing to expand access to individuals enrolled in vocational and technical programmes across Nigeria. According to him, the country’s next development stage requires a blend of academic learning and practical skills.
He said, “At NELFUND, we have a mandate to also do vocational skills. We have not started yet, but I know that the President Bola Tinubu administration has ensured that there is full coverage around the skills issue.”
Sawyerr highlighted that multiple government ministries are already involved in skill development initiatives. He said, “The Ministry of Youth Development is doing skills, the Ministry of Education is involved in skills and the Ministry of Digital Economy is involved in IT soft skills. So, skills are something that many departments of government have been charged with doing.”
He added that Nigeria has moved into what he called “the design, build, and operate stage,” stressing that “an engineer who can build, is better than an engineer who can just design.”
