Education

EU to invest 5.4m euros to train teachers in North Western Nigeria

Published

2 years ago

October 21, 2023

EU to invest 5.4m euros to train teachers in North Western Nigeria

The European Union (EU) has announced the investment of an additional 5.4 million euros in building the capacity of teachers in North Western Nigeria.

The EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, made this known at the official launch of the 4O million Euro intervention programme on education and youth empowerment in North Western Nigeria through the Global Gateway initiative.

According to Urpilainen, the investment is in line with the EU’s commitment to crash the high number of out-of-school children in the Northwest region of Nigeria by improving access to quality education and empowering youths in the region.

“This component is complemented by a 5.4 million euro separate programme that we signed today, which is dedicated to teachers for aiming to build their resilience and capacity in challenging environments.

“We have to remember that there is no education without teachers and that’s why we also have to invest in teacher training.

“The third objective of our programme is really that it empowers youth with the skills they need, providing vocational education as promoting behavioural change campaigns to challenge harmful social norms and empower girls,” she said

Urpilainen said that the European Union was equally out to provide vocational education and training for Nigerian youths in order to equip them with the necessary skills required to excel in the Labour market.

“This ambitious programme launched today has been designed with Nigerian authorities to ensure the ownership and an adequate response to the local needs.

“The EU is not only targeting the youth through this specific programme, it is also bringing the youth to the driving seat and this is why as the EU, we set up the Youth Sounding Board, also here in Nigeria, as well as in many countries to make sure that what we do is for the youth but also by the youth,” she added.

Urpilainen said that young people had to be included in decision making creating spaces and structures where young people would feel visible.

She said that Nigeria was not only the economic powerhouse on the continent and the most populous country in Africa but also a strategic partner of the EU in the West region.

She therefore, said that the programme would focus on lifting out-of-school children off the streets to get the required education, especially girls through various components aimed at achieving one objective; access to quality education and youth empowerment.

Urpilainen said the programme launched, apart from tackling out-of-school children, would also include direct assistance to families, cash transfers, social protection, income generation, gifts and indirect assistance through agricultural practices.

She added that another objective of the programme is to promote validated teaching and learning in targeted schools.

She said the programme would support child-centred medical, sexual reproductive health, racial gender equality training and support community-based and state-level capacities to deliver on education.

Responding on behalf of the Northwest governors, Gov. Umar Namadi of Jigawa State, commended the EU for supporting the region to address the scourge of out-of-school children.

“The Northwestern states have the highest population in the country, we are more disadvantaged when it comes to education so this support is coming at the right time.

“For each of us, education is a priority and we have decided collectively and individually to invest in education and we are ready to change the narrative in the next four years.

“This support has come at the right time and I assure you that this support will go a long way in helping us to revamp education in our various states.

“This intervention we will utilise in the best way possible and I assure you that the outcomes would be something commendable to improve our educational system and other aspects of social development,” he said.

(NAN)

EU to invest 5.4m euros to train teachers in North Western Nigeria

Related Topics:EU North Western Nigeria teachers

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Education

NELFUND Begins Upkeep Payments to Over 3,600 Students After Bank Detail Update

Published

7 days ago

July 11, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

NELFUND Disburses Over N20bn in Student Loans, Assures Transparency

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has commenced the disbursement of upkeep payments to students who successfully updated their bank account details from digital wallets to commercial bank accounts.

This was announced in a statement released on Friday in Abuja by the Director of Strategic Communications of the Fund, Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

Oluwatuyi described the development as a significant breakthrough in addressing earlier disbursement delays.

“Over 3,600 students, who previously registered with digital-only banking platforms, have now successfully received their backlog of upkeep payments after updating their details to conventional commercial bank accounts on the NELFUND portal,” she stated.

“We appreciate the patience and understanding of all affected students during this period. Your resilience and cooperation have made this progress possible,” she added.

The NELFUND spokesperson advised students who have yet to update their bank details to raise a support ticket via the official NELFUND portal to request access for the update.

She further urged affected students to report through the IT office of their respective institutions, which would compile and forward all related cases to NELFUND for prompt resolution.

“NELFUND remains committed to ensuring that no eligible student is left behind. This resolution process is part of our broader effort to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and student-centered delivery of our support services,” she said.

Oluwatuyi encouraged students to continue engaging only through official NELFUND channels and to assist their peers who may need help navigating the update process.

She also provided contact options for inquiries, stating that the fund can be reached via email at info@nelf.gov.ng or through its official social media handles: X (formerly Twitter) @nelfund; Instagram @nelfund; and Facebook & LinkedIn: Nigerian Education Loan Fund – NELFUND.

Education

NELFUND Urges Institutions to Upload Student Data for Loan Processing

Published

4 weeks ago

June 18, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has issued a directive to all accredited tertiary institutions to verify and upload their students’ data on the newly digitised Student Loan Application System (SLAS).

This was disclosed in a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday by the Director of Strategic Communications at NELFUND, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

According to Oluwatuyi, the SLAS platform has been fully digitised to streamline and accelerate the student loan processing experience for both institutions and applicants.

“With this upgrade, all accredited institutions are now required to request access to SLAS to verify and upload student data related to loan applications,” she said.

She described the move as “a critical step that ensures the timely processing and disbursement of approved student loans.”

Institutions that have not yet been onboarded onto the system, she said, are advised to send an access request to registration@nelf.gov.ng without delay.

“Once granted access, institutions will be able to view a real-time dashboard of their students’ loan applications, verify submitted data, and track the status of each application,” Oluwatuyi explained.

She called on all institutions to take immediate action in the interest of their students, stressing that verification and data upload by institutions are mandatory steps before final approval and disbursement of loans can be completed.

On the students’ side, Oluwatuyi noted that if an application status currently shows “Verified,” it means the application has passed initial checks. However, final approval and disbursement depend on the institutions’ confirmation and data upload.

“Once this process is completed, your status will be updated to ‘Disbursed’ when the payment of your fees has been processed,” she added.

She also encouraged students to reach out to the fund for assistance via email at info@nelf.gov.ng.

Other official communication channels include:

X (formerly Twitter): @nelfund
Instagram: @nelfund
Facebook & LinkedIn: Nigerian Education Loan Fund – NELFUND

Education

NUC grants ESUT full accreditation for Law, 7 other programmes

Published

2 months ago

May 21, 2025

Saadatu Sahabo

The National Universities Commission, (NUC), has given full accreditation to the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), for her Law programme.

According to the Public Relations Officer of ESUT, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, this is contained in a letter addressed to the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aloysius Okolie, on Wednesday in Enugu by the NUC.

Ani said that in the letter, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu said the report was contained in the result of the October/November 2024 accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities.

Ani disclosed that other programmes in the institution accredited by the NUC include Master of Science in Business Management; Education Computer Science; Education Physics and Agricultural Engineering.

Other accredited programmes he said were Quantity Surveying; Urban and Regional Planning; and Applied Microbiology.

He said that the letter quoted Section 10 (1) of the Education National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institutions, Act CAP E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as empowering the NUC to lay down minimum academic standards for all academic programmes taught in Nigerian universities.

He said the session also empowers the NUC to accredit such programmes.