KolaDaisi VC asks FG to open NELFUND loans to private university students
- The Vice-Chancellor of KolaDaisi University, Ibadan, wants the Federal Government to let private university students access NELFUND loans.
- Prof. Olajumoke Morenikeji said many families choose private universities only because public ones have no space.
- The school is graduating 224 students, its largest set, as it marks its 10th anniversary.
The Vice-Chancellor of KolaDaisi University, Ibadan, Prof. Olajumoke Morenikeji, has asked the Federal Government to let students in private universities benefit from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the scheme that gives government-backed loans to students in tertiary institutions.
She spoke to journalists ahead of the university's 10th anniversary and 6th convocation, which runs from October 26 to November 5, 2026.
Her argument is simple: a student in a private school is still a Nigerian, and the ownership of the university should not decide who gets help paying for school.
Morenikeji said public universities cannot absorb everyone who qualifies for admission. Many families, she said, turn to private institutions only after their children fail to get a place in a federal or state school.
She also pushed back on the idea that private university students come from rich homes. Some parents, she said, make the choice out of necessity rather than comfort.
"The children in private institutions are also Nigerians," she said.
Why it matters to parents
School fees are one of the heaviest costs Nigerian families carry, and private university fees are far higher than what public schools charge. If NELFUND were opened to private students, more families could spread the cost of a degree over time instead of paying everything upfront.
The Vice-Chancellor's call comes as her university prepares to graduate its biggest set yet. A total of 224 students from 16 disciplines will receive degrees, up from 52 in 2021, 92 in 2022, 123 in 2023, 159 in 2024 and 203 in 2025.
Of this year's graduating class, 24 earned First Class, 91 finished with Second Class Upper, 18 with Second Class Lower and 29 with Third Class.
Morenikeji said 22 academic programmes now hold full accreditation. The Law programme was accredited by the Council of Legal Education in 2024, so its first graduates can go on to the Nigerian Law School. The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria inspected the Nursing Science programme on August 31, 2026, and the school is waiting for the result. Medical Laboratory Science is next in line for accreditation.
On research, she said a staff member, Dr. Ngojisola Karigidu, has won a patent for a biopesticide made from lemongrass and orange peel. The university has also set up a Centre for Open Science Research in Robotics, Computing and Artificial Intelligence with international funding.
What happens next
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is due to give a lecture on November 3, and Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), is expected to deliver the commencement address. Degrees and prizes will be awarded on November 5.
Whether NELFUND will be widened to private universities is a decision for the Federal Government, and no official response to the Vice-Chancellor's request has been reported.
