The management of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced a 14-day postponement of the application process for student loan for state institutions.

The students loan fund explained in a statement on Tuesday that the action was due to low data submissions.

In the statement by its Head, Media and Public Relations, Nasir Ayitogo, NELFUND said:”

This decision was necessitated by the failure of several state-owned institutions to upload the required student data and fees information to the NELFUND Student Verification System (SVS).”

“To date, only a limited number of state-owned institutions have successfully completed the data submission process. These include 20 state universities out of 48, 12 state colleges out of 54, and 2 state polytechnics out of 49.

“While we acknowledge the efforts of these institutions, the failure to submit data from the remaining state institutions poses significant challenges to ensuring a seamless and accurate verification process for student loan applicants.

“The application window, initially set to open on June 25, 2024, will now commence on July 10, 2024.

“This extension will provide additional time for state institutions to comply with the data submission requirements and ensure their students can benefit from the Federal Government student loan scheme,” it added.

According to NELFUND, “To facilitate an efficient and error-free application process, it is crucial that all state institutions provide complete and accurate information.”

“This includes JAMB numbers, matriculation numbers, admission numbers, full names, level, faculties, departments, duration of program, fees and gender of all eligible students.

“Incomplete or incorrect data submissions will result in application delays and potential disqualification for affected students.

“The fund urges all state institutions to expedite their data submission processes and ensure the accuracy of the information provided.

“Institutions that fail to meet the revised deadline risk disadvantaging their students, who depend on these loans to support their education.

“The fund appreciates cooperation of institutions that have already completed their submissions and encourage others to follow suit promptly,” the statement further said.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has fixed July 18 for the policy meeting that will determine the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) cut-off marks for 2024 admissions into tertiary institutions.

The board’s weekly bulletin reports that the meeting, which is to be chaired by Tahir Mamman, the education minister, would have other stakeholders in attendance.

These stakeholders include heads of regulatory agencies such as the National University Commission (NUC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Council for Colleges of Education (NCCE).

To be present are heads of tertiary institutions in the country and delegates from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among others.

The policy meeting on admissions sets the tone for any particular year’s admission exercise and the formulation of admission guidelines.

It also presents application statistics, performance evaluation on candidates, and the acceptable minimum admissions standards for all tertiary institutions across Nigeria for the given year.

During the exercise, Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar of JAMB, will present reports on the just concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the ongoing Direct Entry (DE) applications.

He is also to analyse key performance indicators that could shape the policy directions of the government in the area of admission.

Also, the meeting would apprise stakeholders of the salient issues that cropped up in the previous year’s admission exercise.

In addition, the policy meeting would look at the performance of candidates in the current year’s UTME to determine the year’s minimum admissible score.

The 2024 UTME commenced on April 19 and ended on April 29.

In the previous year, the tertiary education stakeholders agreed on the minimum admission requirement for admission into universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.

The July 18 meeting would determine the year’s admission requirements while kick-starting the admission process for the current year.

It will discuss unresolved issues emanating from the previous academic year, appraise the compliance of stakeholders with extant advisories, and suggest further amendments where necessary.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has accreditated 18 undergraduate degree programmes at Sokoto State University (SSU).

In a statement on Friday, Zayyanu Shehu, the varsity’s public relations officer, said the accreditation status covers all of the 18 courses undertaken by the university after an intensive exercise conducted by NUC.

He said the summary of results letter was signed by Abraham Chundusu, the NUC acting director of accreditation, on behalf of the commission’s executive secretary and presented to Bashir Garba, the SSU vice-chancellor.

“The programmes that obtained full accreditation status comprised Computer Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Microbiology,” the statement reads in part.

“Others are Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Arabic, Hausa, History, and Islamic Studies, Education Computer Science, Education Mathematics, Education Physics, Education Biology, and Education Chemistry.”

On his part, Garba expressed the institution’s appreciation to the commission for the outcomes of the exercise.

He assured that the varsity would remain committed to attaining academic standards to continue meeting all the NUC requirements for global ranking.

“Indeed, this achievement underscores the University’s commitment to academic excellence and its dedication to meeting the highest standards set by the NUC,” he said.

“Scoring full accreditation status for all the programmes presented to the NUC required commitment and dedication.”