NELFUND : Alumni Seeks Gov. Otu's Intervention For UniCross Enlistment

The University of Cross River State (UniCross) Alumni Association has called on the state government to facilitate the enlistment of the university in the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme. 

The appeal, contained in a statement issued by the National President of the association, Dr. Inyali Peter comes after the federal government announced the list of 36 state-owned tertiary institutions eligible for the Students' Loan Scheme, omitting UniCross.

The alumni association expressed disappointment that UniCross students, who are among the most disadvantaged in the country, will not have access to the loan scheme, calling on the Governor, Sen. Bassey Otu to assist the university in fast-tracking the enlistment process.

The association noted that "majority of the students of Unicross are Cross Riverians and we all know that our state is a civil service state. This loan scheme presents an opportunity to relieve parents who struggle to pay their children's school fees, despite the recent increase in the minimum wage by Governor Bassey Otu". 

The statement also criticized the university management and the governing council for frustrating their efforts to provide scholarships to outstanding students and for prioritizing internal conflicts over the welfare of students.

While highlighting the state government's neglect of the university's infrastructure, with no completed projects in over 20 years, the alumni lamented that "we believe this is the least thing the state government which is controlled by the party at the centre can do for our students. We've tried to help but because the management and council never wanted us, they've done everything to frustrate us including going after our revenue base".

Continuing, the statement added that "even though we know past administrations have treated the University like an orphan, we are hopeful that Governor Otu's commitment to the institution, demonstrated through the facilitation of the administrative building before emerging Governor will yield positive results for the University. But before we begin to see the results, we want the state government to prioritise the welfare of the students by ensuring the University is allowed to participate in the scheme ".