Education

APWEN, partners sensitise students on proper hygiene, encourage girls to study engineering

Published

4 years ago

October 16, 2021

The Association of Professional Women in Engineering (APWEN), Abuja chapter has joined other stakeholders to commemorate the 2021 Global HandWashing Day, while also encouraging young girls to take up engineering courses in schools.

The Global HandWashing Day is an international handwashing promotion campaign commemorated annually on Oct. 15 to motivate and mobilise people around the world to improve their handwashing habits.

The association in collaboration with Blitz Solutions Global Concept and Tamansuwa Sanitation Water and Rural Development Initiative (TAMSWARD) took the campaign to the Junior Secondary School, Area 11.
The 2021 commemoration has the theme “ Our Future is at Hand, Let’s Move Forward Together “.

Mrs Charity Joseph-Ojobo, Chairman of the Abuja Chapter of the association, said that hand washing was critical to human livelihood, hence the need to take our hygiene serious.
Joseph-Ojobo, pledged the association’s determination to provide solutions to the students in the area of mentorship that would ignite the passion for studying engineering courses.

Mrs Lynda Bitrus, a member of the association tasked the students to take advantage of the mentorship programme offered by the association and refocus their thinking towards the study of engineering as a profession.

According to her, there is need to gather the students together to sensitise them on the need to always observe better hygiene on daily basis even as the COVID-19 is still with us.

“ The association taught it wise to commemorate this day by visiting the school to educate the students about the importance of the global hand washing day especially with the advent of COVID-19.

“ As students, we need to help ourselves and carry the information to our families on proper measures to provide hygiene for the country,” she said.

Also, the Principal of the school, Mrs Fatimah Gold, commended the association and partners for always finding time to encourage the students of the school.
Gold promised the association that in the next five years, more girls of the school would become engineers to solve the problems of the society.

According to her, engineering should not only be for male students, female students should begin to develop interest in the learning of engineering course and build a career from it.

The event feature quiz competition, demonstration of proper hand washing, distribution of hand washing liquid to all participants and presentation of certificates to partners.

Also, 12 students of the school who took part in the quiz competition went home with gifts of writing materials. (NAN)

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Education

NELFUND assures students of smart system to improve loan access

Published

4 weeks ago

May 7, 2025

The Gleamer

Mariam Abeeb

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has assured students it was working assiduously towards building a technology driven system that would improve easy access to its loans.

This was as the FUND disclosed that no fewer than 320,000 students have thus far been paid with many more currently undergoing verification process to enable their payments.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr gave the assurances in Abuja, while addressing Polytechnics , Monotechnics and Institutes at a Stakeholders Engagement Session/ Technical Workshop on NELFUND System Automation and Loan Application Processes.

Sawyerr noted that the FUND was targeting a platform where students could access loan with confidence and without stress in a manner that was transparent and accountable.

He said: “At NELFUND our mission goes beyond giving loans. It’s about opening doors, it’s about making sure every young Nigerian who is willing to learn and grow has a real shot regardless of their background, location, or chosen path of study.

“For too long, many students, especially in technical institutions, have faced steep financial barriers; some drop out, others have never even applied. This is the gap we at NELFUND are here to close. But we know we can’t do it alone.

“This is a shared mission. It belongs to all of us, government institutions and the private sector alike. This technical workshop marks a major step forward.

“We’re not only providing financing, we’re building a technology-driven system that makes it easier for students to apply, for institutions to verify, and for funds to be disbursed with speed, fairness, and accountability.

“We’re aiming for access without stress, a platform students can use with confidence; transparency and trust so that no one is left wondering where their application stands; partnership with purpose because your feedback, your data, and your cooperation are critical to making this work. We rely on you as our institutional partners to help us bring this vision to life.”

Sawyerr who commended the institutions for providing technical expertise, practical hands-on training that fuels industries and empowers communities over the years, said besides teaching skills, they have built careers, created employers and strengthened economies.

“You know your students, you understand their struggles, your insights will help us tailor this system to reflect the realities on ground, not just assumptions on paper.

“To NBTE, we value your steady leadership in shaping and regulating technical education. Your collaboration is key as we move forward fully.”

The NELFUND boss urged the institutions to partner with the FUND to deliver a system that was not just functional or sustainable, but one that was transformative

“As we move forward fully, integrating NELFUND processes with institutional systems and standards, let us remember at the heart of all of this is a student, a young Nigerian with dreams, with ambition, and the courage to pursue them. Everything we do must serve that student.

“The only way to make it happen is by working together, listening to one another, and staying grounded in real-world challenges. I encourage you all to engage fully today share what’s working and what is not, and together let’s build something that lasts.”

NELFUND ‘s Executive Director, Operations, Mr. Iyal Mustapha, disclosed that apart from the 320,000 students who have so far been paid, more verifications are currently ongoing.

Mustapha, who explained that the failure of not having the number of registered students tally with the number of students whose application process was deemed successful was from the part of students and not NELFUND, said there was an urgent need to bridge the gap.

He also disclosed that the FUND was considering connecting directly to institution’s portal to get the data they need, and how student could apply to their institutions portal without necessarily reaching out to NELFUND.

“One other thing that we’re trying to do going forward is to send some of our IT to all the institutions so that we can see how possible it is we connect directly to your portal instead of saying please send us data. How can we connect using an API which makes it easier to get the data of any student coming to us directly from your portal and not from our portal. So we don’t need to be collecting any data again.

“At the same time, we’re thinking of seeing how is it possible that a student can apply to your portal without coming to us. So it makes it so easy for the student when they’re doing registration, when they’re doing payments, they can select either to apply for NELFUND loans and the process will go through your portal. So you have all the data without ever reaching to NELFUND. All we need is for you to give assurance these are your students and if we have that, we pay you directly. It makes it simpler and faster for all the students.”

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