Education
FUNAAB launches Nigeria’s first gender policy
The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), on Tuesday, launched its gender policy, making the institution the first to do so in Nigeria.
The Chairperson of, the FUNAAB Gender Policy Review Committee, Prof. Petra Saghir, said the policy was launched in order to improve institutional outcomes and development.
Saghir explained that institutions that are not gender-sensitive would continue to keep their best hands as substitutes.
She spoke during a stakeholders’ workshop on “FUNAAB Gender Responsiveness in Agricultural Research for Improved Institutional Outcomes and Development”, held at the school premises in Abeokuta.
She noted that Gender sensitivity is different from women empowerment, saying there are gender-related initiatives and women empowerment initiatives.
“In an environment where the male children need more concentration, concentrate on them, but if it is the women that need support, you concentrate on them too, so those are gender sensitive initiatives.
“A lot of men are even advocating for women’s empowerment because they know that they’re going to bring peace, if their house is peaceful, definitely they would be in peace.
“FUNAAB is occupying a very strategic and center position for all other institutions to also benefit. You can develop institutional capacity to pick up these policy issues.
“Gender is not something that you treat with levity because if you are not careful, you are going to step on toes or do something that ordinarily people would not be able to understand you,” she said.
Saghir explained that the same opportunity accorded a male child should be extended to the female counterpart, adding that gender balance, equity and justice should always be encouraged.
In his remarks, the Acting Vice Chancellor of the Institution, Prof. Olusola Kehinde, stated that the institution remains a sector leader in gender equity.
Kehinde added that the institution had a long history of championing efforts to increase the representation of women in leadership roles.
He noted that the institution had been recognised as gender friendly with zero tolerance for sexual harassment and gender-based violence.
The acting vice chancellor said it is important to empower and engage the university community to be gender-responsive in research, learning, character and community engagement for transformative development.
“This will enable the university continually be in the front row in leading inclusive practices, ensuring the university is well positioned to respond to emerging gender equity challenges for all-around progress and development.
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“Gender Document committee has introduced the Gender Policies which provides the framework to ensure that the university is guided by the principles of equal opportunity, respect and inclusion,” he said.
He added that the policy also provided that all members of the university community had a responsibility to contribute to the achievement of an equitable working and learning environment.
“The university cherishes the collaborations and developmental relationship between our great University and African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) since 2008.
A Consultant on Agricultural Research and Development from Uganda, Mrs Monica Kapiriri, also contributed to the topic via zoom, explaining that there should be strong leadership to produce training, research and extension output that is designed to respond to the priorities of a diversity of men and women in the agricultural sector.
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.
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:
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X (formerly Twitter): @nelfund
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Instagram: @nelfund
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Facebook & LinkedIn: Nigerian Education Loan Fund – NELFUND
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.
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