FG Trains Over 500’000 South-South Student  Leaders In Rivers 

Federal Government of Nigeria has trained over 500,000 student leaders from the South-South region under the auspices of “Renewed Hope Student Leaders Engagement and Capacity building programme held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on students engagement, Hon. Asefon Sunday, said the programe is aimed at engaging the student leaders, government and key stakeholders in the education sector.

Comr. Sunday said this, weekend, during the programme at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

He said the theme of the training, “Renewed Students Engagement: Rivers 2025”, is aimed at strengthening the bridge between government and students.

He explained that the Students engagement training is aimed at creating a  platform for student leaders to interact directly with policymakers and stakeholders in the education and youth sector.

According to him, their  mission is to engage student leaders meaningfully, inform them about the far-reaching reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in education and youth development, and hear from them directly.

Hon Sunday continued that going by the training they will work towards building a more inclusive, impactful, and prosperous future for Nigerian students.

“The Renewed Hope Student Leaders Engagement was proudly organized by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students Engagement in partnership with the Rivers State Government.

“I must specially appreciate President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a leader who understands that education is the foundation of national development.

“The launch of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has  made education accessible and affordable for Nigerian students.

“Also, the scheme  has significantly reduced the number of students dropping out of tertiary institutions in the past two years.

“Just this Monday, the President approved the allocation of Funds to 15 schools, including college of Education, polytechnic and University, to create innovation hubs and entrepreneurship centers, to provide core labs/workstation to cover electronic Lab, 3D printing Lab Leser Technology Lab, production Design lab, Robotics and coding, Artificial intelligence, among others.

“The introduction of the Students Industrial Work Experience Grant provides for both financial support and practical exposure to students.

“Yet, we know there are still opportunities that students are not tapping into in various MDAs and Ministries not because they do not exist but, because the awareness is low”, Comr Sunday said.

 He also appreciated the Sole Administrator of the State, Vice Admiral (Rtd.) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, for his unwavering support for the programme.

“Not only did he approve that Rivers State should host the programme, he also provided logistic support to ensure the programme is successful.

“His passion for youth empowerment and education is commendable”, he said.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyer, disclosed that over 80 billion naria  has been disbursed to Nigerian institutions with over 745,000 students  successfully applying for loan.

“Over 400,000 students have benefited from the loan scheme in the tertiary level, while some of them who applied for their upkeep have received #20, 000 permornth for the session.

“So far we have 760,000 Nigerian students who have registered for the loan, and we have over 745,000 of them who have applied successfully for the loan”, Sawyer said.

Meanwhile, a student of the Department of Health Promotion, Environmental Safety Education,  University of Port Harcourt, Noble Bariduanee, has called on government and stakeholders to focus more on creating awareness on different schemes for students, because many  are unaware  of these opportunities.

By: Kiadum Edookor