Don urges FG to include private institutions in NELFUND

Professor of Technology Management, Francis Eniterai Ogbimi (R) and Delta State Council NUJ Chairman, Comrade Churchill Oyowe (L) during the briefing.

The Vice-Chancellor of KolaDaisi University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Prof. Olajumoke Morenikeji, on Monday, called on the Federal Government to extend the Nigerian Education Loan Fund scheme to students in private universities.

Morenikeji made the call while addressing journalists ahead of the university’s 10th anniversary and sixth convocation ceremony, scheduled to hold between October 26 and November 5, 2026, at the institution’s premises in Ibadan, the state capital.

She stressed that students in private institutions were also Nigerians and should not be excluded from government-supported educational financing because of the ownership status of their universities.

The VC said, “NELFUND should be made available to private institutions. Some of these students are not coming from wealthy backgrounds. Attending private institutions does not mean their parents are rich. I want to appeal to the Federal Government to shift ground. The children in private institutions are also Nigerians.”

Questioning the capacity of public universities to accommodate the large number of candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions, she said, “But how many students can federal institutions take?”

Morenikeji argued that attending a private university did not necessarily mean that a student’s parents were wealthy, noting that some families opted for private institutions because their children could not secure admission into public universities.

“I want to urge the Federal Government to look beyond the ownership of institutions and consider the circumstances of students when formulating policies designed to improve access to higher education,” she said.

She added that extending educational loans to eligible students in private universities would provide more Nigerians with opportunities to pursue their academic ambitions, irrespective of the institutions they attended.

The VC also disclosed that the university had secured full accreditation for 22 academic programmes. Its Law programme received accreditation from the Council of Legal Education in 2024, allowing its first set of graduates to proceed to the Nigerian Law School.

She said the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria conducted an accreditation exercise for the university’s Nursing Science programme on August 31, 2026, while the institution was awaiting the outcome. Preparations were also underway for the accreditation of its Medical Laboratory Science programme.

Morenikeji added that the university had established a Centre for Open Science Research in Robotics, Computing and Artificial Intelligence through international funding as part of efforts to strengthen research, innovation and technological development.

The anniversary and convocation celebrations will feature a lecture by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on November 3, while Prof Ishaq Oloyede, immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, is expected to deliver the commencement address.

The programme will climax on November 5 with the formal award of degrees and prizes to graduating students.