The era of students suspending their academic sessions to raise funds for tuition appears to be ending at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU). The institution has witnessed a drastic reduction in leave of absence requests, dropping from roughly 3,000 annually to zero. Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this in Abuja at the weekend, attributing the change to the Federal Government’s student loan initiative.
Alausa explained that before the intervention, many students could not afford tuition and had to drop out temporarily. He shared a specific conversation with the Vice Chancellor of the university regarding the trend.
"Vice Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ogun State was telling somebody a few weeks ago. That text got to me. He said, ‘Every year, I have about 3,000 students applying for leave of absence," Alausa recounted.
The Minister emphasised that these students were indigent, not political appointees taking sabbaticals. He noted that financial constraints previously forced brilliant students to abandon courses like engineering, law, and medicine.
"So I called and said, ‘What does leave of absence mean?’ He said that those students would apply because they don’t have the money to continue their education. They would apply for leave of absence to go and work and come back to school. One university has about 3,000 students every year. He said, in the last two years, he’s had zero applications for leave of absence," the Minister stated.
This shift aligns with the objectives of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). Since its launch on May 24, 2024, the scheme has disbursed over ₦227.5 billion to more than 1.3 million students. Dashboard records as of March 28, 2026, show that ₦146 billion covered institutional fees, while ₦80 billion was disbursed as upkeep allowances across 282 institutions.
NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, reiterated that no eligible beneficiary would miss examinations due to financial hurdles. He described the scheme as a strategic tool to combat dropout rates.
"We started the scheme of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to provide students with loans, interest free loans, with very, very soft terms, to ensure that the situation we’ve had in this country for so long, where so many cannot commence tertiary education or are forced to drop out because of lack of funds, is addressed," Sawyerr noted.
He assured that the government remains committed to swift disbursement while maintaining strict institutional processes to prevent misappropriation.
