From an orphan determined to become a graduate to a grieving daughter whose mother struggled to pay her fees and a parent who borrowed money to secure her child’s admission, the Federal Government’s student loan scheme is changing personal stories of financial hardship into renewed hope for education.
For some Nigerian students, the dream of obtaining a higher education is often threatened not by a lack of intelligence, ambition or determination, but by the inability to pay school fees. For parents struggling to provide for their families, the cost of keeping a child in school can mean borrowing money, sacrificing essential needs or living with the fear that their children may be forced to abandon their education.
It is against this backdrop that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), established under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, is emerging as a lifeline for students and families confronting financial difficulties.
Recent testimonies from beneficiaries have offered a deeply personal glimpse into how the Federal Government’s student loan intervention is helping young Nigerians remain in school, easing pressure on struggling parents and keeping educational dreams alive.
One of the most touching accounts is that of Amarachukwu Imana, an orphan studying Primary Education at Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, Anambra State.
For Imana, education represents more than a certificate. It is a dream she has continued to pursue despite the difficulties associated with growing up without parents to provide the financial support many students rely on.
Speaking on A Promise Kept Television, a weekly TV magazine programme of the All Progressives Congress (APC), she expressed profound gratitude for the support she has received through NELFUND since the 2024/2025 academic session.
“By the grace of God, I am a beneficiary of NELFUND from the 2024/2025 academic session to date, and my feelings are immeasurable because I am an orphan, and education has always been my dream,” she said.
According to Imana, the scheme has enabled her to pay her school fees without stress and meet other academic expenses, including departmental dues.
For a student in her circumstances, such assistance means more than financial relief. It provides the opportunity to remain in school, concentrate on her studies and continue working towards the future she has imagined for herself.
Her story underscores the human significance of an intervention that seeks to ensure that financial hardship does not automatically shut the door of higher education against deserving students.
A daughter’s grief, a mother’s burden and a new source of relief;
Another beneficiary, Simi Dalyop, shared a similarly emotional experience, describing how the death of her father placed additional financial pressure on her mother and made paying her school fees increasingly difficult.
With the family facing the emotional pain of bereavement alongside the challenge of financing her education, the uncertainty surrounding school fees became an additional burden.
Dalyop said NELFUND’s intervention brought relief by addressing her school fee obligations and reducing the pressure on her mother.
“Befre NELFUND, paying my fees had been very difficult. The scheme has helped ease the financial burden on my mum because, during that period, I lost my dad, and the financial burden was too much,” she explained.
“When my school fees were disbursed, I was very happy and relieved because I no longer had to worry about paying them.”
Her testimony captures an important dimension of the student loan programme: its potential to support students whose families have experienced unexpected loss or financial setbacks.
For Dalyop, the intervention also inspired her to help others. Having experienced its benefits, she said she had introduced friends to the scheme and assisted some of them with their applications.
In this way, the impact of the intervention extends beyond individual beneficiaries, as students who receive support can help their peers discover opportunities to continue their education.
How NELFUND helped a mother repay her debts,The impact of the programme is also evident in the experience of Blessing Uchenna, whose daughter, Uchenna Castel, is a 200-level Software Engineering student at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
When her daughter secured admission, Blessing said she could not afford the initial expenses required to secure the opportunity. Determined not to allow financial difficulties to destroy her daughter's chances of entering university, she turned to friends and acquaintances for loans.
Her decision reflected the difficult choices many parents face when their children's educational ambitions collide with limited household resources.
“When my daughter got admission, it was not easy for me to pay. I had to borrow money from people so that she would not lose her admission,” she said.
Blessing subsequently learnt about NELFUND through a friend who informed her about the Federal Government's intervention for students facing financial difficulties.
She explained that the money previously paid towards her daughter's school fees was refunded to the family through the university, allowing her to repay those who had lent her money.
“The university refunded the money to us, and I used it to pay back the people I borrowed money from,” she said.
The experience offered the family two forms of relief: support for the continuation of her daughter's education and an opportunity for the mother to settle debts incurred while trying to secure her admission.
Her story demonstrates how student financing can have implications beyond the classroom, particularly for families that have had to borrow money or make difficult financial sacrifices to keep their children in school.
Tinubu’s education intervention and the promise of opportunity
Taken together, the experiences of Imana, Dalyop and Blessing illustrate the personal circumstances behind the broader debate about access to higher education in Nigeria.
An orphan seeking to fulfil her educational ambition, a daughter coping with the loss of her father and a mother borrowing money to prevent her child from losing an admission all faced different challenges. Yet their experiences point to a common reality: the financial cost of education can place enormous pressure on students and their families.
Through NELFUND, the Tinubu administration is seeking to address this barrier by providing eligible students with access to loans for their education, subject to the scheme’s requirements and procedures.
The intervention reflects the principle that a student's financial circumstances should not, by themselves, determine whether that student can pursue higher education.
While the long-term impact of the scheme will depend on effective implementation, timely disbursements, public awareness and continued accountability, the beneficiaries' accounts offer examples of the immediate difference that financial assistance can make.
For Imana, it is an opportunity to continue pursuing the dream of becoming a graduate. For Dalyop, it has eased the pressure on a mother already dealing with the loss of her husband. For Blessing, it has helped her recover from the financial strain of securing her daughter's admission.
These are more than accounts of school fees being paid. They are stories about educational aspirations preserved, family pressures eased and young people given a better chance to continue their studies.
Ultimately, the significance of President Tinubu's NELFUND intervention will be measured not only by the amount disbursed or the number of applications received, but also by the opportunities it helps preserve for students who might otherwise struggle to complete their education.
For families such as those of Imana, Dalyop and Blessing, that opportunity is already a source of relief and renewed hope.
