Education

CIPMN unveils methodology to enhance professional best practices

Published

5 years ago

December 3, 2020

The Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN) has unveiled a methodology aimed at enhancing the professional best practices of its members.

The methodology called Delivery Unified Controlled Agile Projects (DUCAP) was unveiled in Abuja on Thursday at the induction ceremony of 120 new members of the institute.

Dr Victoria Okoronkwo, Chairman, Governing Council of the institute said that there were gaps in the application of projects within the country’s project environment and eco-system considering the peculiar socio-economic,, political and ethnoreligious realities.

Okoronkwo said that in order to bridge the gap, the idea of DUCAP as the country’s version of the project delivery framework was muted.

She said that the major objective of the methodology was to integrate all the existing foreign methodologies and overlap them with the learning and training curriculum.

” We know very well that our environment is different from foreign environment. We have our own peculiarities both social and cultural.

” So being different from the white, we have to do things according to our own culture and religious. DUCAP has come to differentiate us from the way the white people deliver projects.

” It has not been easy in this country concerning projects, a lot of projects become abandoned because a project manager has not been there.

” But when we look at it, maybe it is because of the foreign methodology, so we said let us do our own that will be good considering our environment,” She said

The president called for government support on the realization of DUCAP methodology while also urging the inductees to take the business of project management in the country seriously therefore desisting from using non-professionals in project delivery.

Also, Mr. Henry Mbadiwe, Registrar of the institute, said that the idea of DUCAP was to continually evolve as the country also evolves.

Mbadiwe explained that it was necessary to address gaps in the delivery of projects from every part of the country while also calling for strong institutions for project sustainability.

According to him, DUCAP is the methodology that can change Nigeria. We need the country to begin to do things right in project delivery.

“DUCAP methodology focuses on delivering the project in the Nigeria context. We have a project methodology that has been created by countries of the world.

” But with Nigeria, what we have done is work with a lot of individuals in the academics, professionals fields to look at Nigeria to create a new project management delivery framework for this country.

” A framework that takes into consideration a unique cultural ethnic, religious, and political diversities, it looks at Nigerian own local content.

” It is not just knowledge-based imported from overseas but it is one generated from Nigeria and for Nigerians. It is a very big milestone because we can begin training using this particular framework to the next level of project management.”

He, therefore, called on the government to take pride in human capacity saying that building, cars, assets should not be more important than people.

He added that it was necessary to develop knowledge-based projects that could be exported to other countries as this was the only viable tool for national development.

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Education

NELFUND assures students of smart system to improve loan access

Published

1 month 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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