Osun state governor, Ademola Adeleke, has advised the federal government to understudy other nation’s operating the student loan to avoid making it a debt trap.
While hosting the managing director of Nigeria Education Loans Fund (NELFUND), Dr Akintunde Sawyer at the Government House, Osogbo, Tuesday, Adeleke commended President Bola Tinubu for creating the fund as a response to the many challenges facing the student population.
“We commend the president for demonstrating political will by fast-tracking not only the establishment of the fund but its effective take-off.
“We are glad our efforts paid off with the enrolment of many Osun schools in the programme. It is gratifying to hear that Osun took the lead among comity of states in the selection and compliance process. Our next plan is to follow up by further deepening the preparedness of the selected schools for accessing opportunities available within the fund.
“I must however call our attention to a lesson we must learn as a nation from the operation of the loans board. As a long-term resident of the United States, I am aware of the challenge of student loan debt. It has become a crisis of sorts. It has also become a subject of hot political debate. It has to do with huge student loan debt in the US.
“We must as a nation avoid a similar debt trap. As we have the grace to understudy other nations operating similar funds, we must avoid the pitfalls. Our new system must integrate mechanisms to prevent similar experiences like what is happening in the US,” Adeleke said.