OIL WEALTH, POOR STUDENTS AND THE NELFUND QUESTION
KALU OKORONKWO argues for a periodic review of the students’ upkeep allowance There is perhaps no more jarring illustration of Nigeria’s confused understanding of educational opportunity and social investment than the
Kalu Okoronkwo advocates for periodic review of students' upkeep allowance. Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu's suggestion that NELFUND beneficiaries could earn income through petty trading, such as selling akara and kuli kuli, exposes an uncomfortable irony. Despite Nigeria's oil wealth, students face financial burdens in financing their education.
The issue is whether an oil-producing nation should burden students with loan repayments while expecting them to become the country's human capital. NELFUND, established to address the higher-education financing gap, has disbursed over ₦303 billion to 850,000 students since its launch in 2024. However, the question remains: should an oil-rich country like Nigeria rely on student loans to finance higher education when it could invest in its own human capital development?
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