Lots of development Programmes have been designed and implemented in Nigeria, with very little success recorded. Most often than not, they usually lack sustainability plans, owing to factors such as political instability, change of government or administration, which is the most prominent currently, as a result of the culture of discontinuation or lack of continuity in public policy by successive government, mismanagement of resources, limited or inadequate resources, etc.
In view of the above, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), is a Federal Government's initiative designed out of the Students Loan Act of 2024, to provide loan to students of tertiary institutions from poor home who cannot afford tertiary education.
The repayment plans as explicitly stated in the NELFUND portal can be accessed through the link below:
1. REPAYMENT PLAY ANALYSIS
I. EMPLOYED BENEFICIARIES
The two (2) years interval after the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) is soothing and convenient, creating the needed allowance before the 10% remission or deduction from the salary of employed beneficiaries kick-starts. This is the only set or category of graduate beneficiaries NELFUND will not face difficulty with in repaying the loan. Therefore, to enhance continuity and sustainability of the programs, the Federal Government should strategize means of ensuring they gain employment before the two (2) years interval.
ii. SELF-EMPLOYED BENEFICIARIES
The plan is unable to specify how the 10% profit of a self-employed beneficiaries will be remitted. This is not the story about it pays to be honest. This identified loophole will certainly be capitalized upon by many beneficiaries, the poor attitude of Nigerians towards government's programmes will certainly play out. So, to ensure efficient sustainability, a more better, effective and workable plan should be designed and effected. In all honesty, determining 10% profit of self-employed beneficiaries and getting them to be regularly committed in remitting same, is unrealistic and a tall dream for NELFUND. If this aspect is not redesigned and the highlighted grey issues clearly ironed out, the sustainability plans as well as the entire Programme may fail woefully.
iii. UNEMPLOYED BENEFICIARIES
No beneficiary should be expected to be unemployed after two (2) years of completing or exempted from the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), else it becomes another avenue for exploiting the system, regardless of the quarterly report or update about their employment status. With the introduction of the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Incubation Certificate Programme (EIBIC), across the tertiary institutions in Nigeria, if it is strictly implemented according to the existing blueprint, it should be made totally unacceptable for graduates and specifically, NELFUND beneficiaries to remain unemployed after two (2) years of completion or exemption form NYSC. The poor perception of Nigerians towards employment should be re-orientated - Nigerians think that it is only people who are salary earners, perhaps working for government or organized private sector, are those who are not unemployed. The issue is also a factor responsible for the problem of data in Nigeria. To remedy the situation, adequate sensitization and attitudinal re-orientation is seriously need to effect a paradigm shift or new way of thinking in the country.
iv. JOB LOSS OR DEAD
Job loss is occurrence of certainty in the labour market, as well as death of beneficiaries, being an unavoidable natural occurrence. However, the fear which may become a reality, in view of the NELFUND sustainability plan, is the poor attitude of Nigerians towards public policy (government's programmes), citizens taking undue advantage of or capitalizing on the loopholes of systems, because they feel it is no man's business or owns by no man. It usually triggers or prompts the action of dragging or striving to share what should ordinarily be a long term programme designed to benefit the highest number of the public over time - such requires the public protection for sustainability, instead of expressing the usual 'i-don't-care-attitude' or 'attitude of exploiting and taking from government because it is owned by no man'. To cure this ignorance, Nigerians must know that government is owned by the people (public). Fine-tuning and redesigning of the payment plan in tandem with the existing reality of citizens exploiting the loopholes surrounding job loss and death is extremely needful, based on the foreseeable occurrences.
STRENGTHENING THE INTER-AGENCY COLLABORATION FOR NELFUND SUSTAINABILITY
a. ALL TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS'
The bedrock of NELFUND programme implementation, school fees of beneficiaries are paid directly to the various schools. The collaboration should go beyond what is stated above, to include regular provision of academic records of beneficiaries, to appraise their performances, as well as their conduct, this may also add to the success of both repayment and sustainability plans of the NELFUND programme. Unserious beneficiaries who may end up not graduating or graduated with poor academic performance, with low aptitude and skills, who may not have appreciable or high value in the labour market, which will pose a serious challenge to repayment plan, should be well checked to avoid waste.
b. NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE CORPS (NYSC)
The next interfacing platform which is quite essential, especially regarding the newly introduced Federal Government policy, the Nigeria Education Repository and Data Bank (NERD) which is a digital platform designed for the purpose of aggregating, preserving and verifying academic records and publications across Nigeria's education tiers - is also tied to NYSC programme enrollment. The new NYSC policy mandates all prospective corps members to own NERD account and have the national student number (NSN) assigned to them from the digital portal before being considered for NYSC programme. NELFUND collaboration with NYSC which is a transition platform for new graduate beneficiaries, can help in tracking them towards ensuring strict adherence to repayment plan. Now, without NERD registration, no NYSC and without NYSC, no exemption or discharge certificate. Knowing full well that In Nigeria today, no graduate can gain meaningful employment in a formal organization without having the NYSC exemption or discharge certificate, except for graduates of college of education. It is one effective monitoring and control measure that will assist NELFUND in tracking beneficiaries for prompt repayment.
c. ENTREPRENEURSHIP, INNOVATION AND BUSINESS INCUBATION CERTIFICATE PROGRAMME (EIBIC)
The EIBIC Programme is designed for the purpose of solving unemployment challenge among graduates of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. That is why attention will be focusing on hand-on-experience activities and establishment of enterprises or ventures by students before graduation. Strong collaboration between NELFUND and the EIBIC Programme's administrators should be fostered, to enable access to NELFUND beneficiaries' records of EIBIC Programme for smooth and seamless performance appraisal, and successful completion in order to increase employability of beneficiaries graduates or raise employment opportunities, for seamless repayment of the loan.
d. CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN)
It becomes strategic and indispensable partner with NELFUND because of Bank Verification Number (BVN). The apex bank's policy is paying off a great deal in combating financial crimes in the financial sector. BVN is an effective measure or control that can be deployed in redressing some loopholes or deficiencies in the labour market.
e. NATIONAL IDENTITY MANAGEMENT COMMISSION (NIMC)
Without having clear-cut identity of beneficiaries, repayment plan may be very difficult to achieve, so, collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), will add to repayment success as well as sustainability of NELFUND programme. Beneficiaries who intend to beat the system or cut corners, may easily be identified, identity crises and identity theft issues will be considerably curtailed.
2. ASSESSMENT OF ELIGIBILITY OF PROSPECTIVE BENEFICIARIES OR APPLICANTS.
I. Appraisal of beneficiaries' aptitude.
ii. Appraisal of beneficiaries' school performance.
iii. Government or NELFUND administrators should make the EIBIC Programme a priority for all beneficiaries, in order to make loan repayment easier.
MARRYING EDUCATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP TO COMBAT UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA.
The current efforts by various governments in Nigeria in combating unemployment, is a welcome development. For efficacious and sustainable intervention, the need arose, to not only focusing on education to stem the tide of unemployment, but combining it with entrepreneurship - the new way of thinking. It involves incorporation of entrepreneurial skills and projects that will train and groom students to become self-employed, before or after leaving school, into the school curriculum, for the purpose of tackling or reducing the surging unemployment rate in Nigeria.
The Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Incubation Certificate Programme (EIBIC) of the Federal Government, which has commenced in earnest, in 14 Federal universities in the country, with intention to expand it to all the Federal Universities in 2027 i.e. next year, and across all tertiary institutions in 2028, is a suitable case in point. Another Programme worth mentioning is the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG) as stated on its portal, "is a Federal Government of Nigeria initiative designed to support full-time undergraduate innovations in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences) with up to N50 million in equity-free funding." The aim of the programme is to ensure transitioning of students innovations from the idea level to sociable commercialized businesses.
These and many other programmes introduced by governments, specifically the Federal Government which initiated the spotlighted pones above, is an expression of a strong commitment towards combating unemployment in the country, especially among graduate population. Dove-tailing or marrying education and entrepreneurship is an explanation of great insight exhibited by governments, regarding the existing economic reality and a reflection of the shift in socio-economic setting or structure. The new way of thinking is building graduates towards becoming self-employed before graduation, in order to reduce the rate of unemployment in the country. That is the way forward. The various governments should do more to interprete and reflect this visin effectively, while the citizens should be well re-orientated for attitudinal change and adaptation. The main concern which should be a headache to all and sundry, is the sustainability of the programs being tailored towards the present socio-economic reality - self-employment and a shift from over-dependent on employment from government and the private sector (salary or paid employment).
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