The president of the country's oldest private HBCU surprised graduates by telling them that their student debt had been forgiven

• Wilberforce University is the country's oldest private historically Black university.
• At the school's commencement on Saturday, graduates were told that their school debt was forgiven.
• A total of $375,000 was forgiven thanks to help from the United Negro College Fund and other nonprofits.

Students graduating from Wilberforce University on Saturday literally jumped for joy as the school's president announced during his commencement address that he was forgiving their student debt.

President Elfred Anthony Pinkard hinted to the difficulties students faced while attending school remotely during the pandemic as a reason for the decision.

"Because we are in awe of your strength and perseverance, because you have made your family and yourselves proud, because you have shown that you are capable of doing work under difficult circumstances, because you represent the best of your generation, we wish to give you a fresh start," Pinkard said in his speech. "So therefore, the Wilberforce University board of trustees has authorized me to forgive any debt.

"Your accounts have been cleared, and you don't owe Wilberforce anything. Congratulations," he said.

A total of $375,000 in debt was cleared from all Wilberforce students enrolled in 2020 and 2021, according to a press release from the school.

The school enrolls more than 700 students, and 166 were part of this year's graduating class, according to The Washington Post.

The move was made possible thanks to scholarships from the United Negro College Fund, Jack and Jill, and other institutional funding, the press release detailed.

The forgiveness applies only to debts to the school. Students will still be responsible for paying back any federal, state, or private loans they took out to attend the school, according to The Post.

The Ohio university - named after British abolitionist William Wilberforce - is the oldest private historically Black university in the country. It was started before the Civil War, was a destination point of the Underground Railroad, and once boasted the likes of W.E.B. DuBois on its faculty.

The school said in its press release that the gift is meant in part to tackle the racial gap between white and Black students in the US.

Black and African-American college graduates owe on average $25,000 more in student loan debt than white college graduates, according ot the National Center for Education.