Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Professor Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, has raised concerns over the low participation of South-East students in the Federal Government’s Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme.
Ortuanya disclosed that only about 7,201 UNN students had benefited from the interest-free loan programme, describing the figure as disappointing compared with other regions. He said the total number of beneficiaries across the South-East was lower than that of a single state in the North-East.
The Vice-Chancellor blamed part of the situation on cultural attitudes towards borrowing and urged students and parents to take advantage of the scheme, stressing that the loan attracts no interest and only requires repayment of the principal amount.
His comments came during a pre-convocation briefing ahead of UNN’s 55th Convocation Ceremony, where 12,895 students are expected to graduate, including 168 first-class graduates and 2,944 postgraduate students.
Ortuanya also highlighted his administration’s achievements, including increased admission quotas for Medicine and Dentistry, the restructuring of Mass Communication into specialised programmes, expansion of entrepreneurship initiatives, and the promotion of 1,984 staff members within 11 months.
