The Nigeria Education Loan Fund (Nigeria Education Loan Fund), NELFUND, has disclosed that plans are ongoing to eventually include students on part-time programmes and those studying in private institutions in the federal student loan scheme, even as it clarified why the categories are currently excluded.
Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, told journalists in Abuja that the exclusion is based strictly on legal and operational limitations contained in the NELFUND Establishment Act. According to him, the law establishing the Fund does not presently permit the participation of students enrolled in part-time programmes or private tertiary institutions.
Sawyerr explained that beyond the legal restriction, there are basic eligibility requirements that applicants must meet to qualify for the loan scheme. He said many students on part-time programmes are unable to meet these requirements, especially those related to proper authentication and verification.
“And in addition to that, there are basic requirements that a student must meet to stand qualified for the scheme. Sadly, most students involved in part-time programmes don’t have such requirements that would help for proper authentication,” he said.
He further noted that one of the most critical requirements is admission through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, which he described as compulsory for all applicants under the scheme.
“And one of key requirements is that your admission must come from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). It’s a compulsory requirement, and sadly, many students in the part-time programmes don’t have it,” Sawyerr stated.
He said the requirement is necessary to ensure credibility and prevent abuse of the scheme, noting that NELFUND must be able to confirm the status of every applicant before disbursement.
“This is because we have to validate the applicant, we have to verify if you are a student or not. Because anybody can come at any time and claim to be a student of any particular institution,” he added.
Despite the current exclusion, the NELFUND boss assured that the Fund is already considering future inclusion of part-time students and those in private institutions. He said such an expansion would require amendments to existing laws and is therefore projected for later years.
“Nevertheless, plans are on to cover the interest of students in part-time programmes, as well as those in the private institution. It’s something that will come in later years, because it will require some legislative actions,” Sawyerr said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Operations, NELFUND, Mustapha Iyal, disclosed that data shows a steady and impressive rise in the number of students applying for the loan, reflecting growing trust in the scheme.
“At NELFUND, we have a five-year plan running. But the figures from 2023/2024, and 2024/2025 applications indicated a significant increase of almost 40 per cent. In 2025/2026 cycle, we are looking at about 60 per cent increase in application,” he said.
Iyal explained that the Fund has made adequate budgetary provisions to accommodate the projected surge, adding that the increase is largely due to sustained awareness campaigns.
“Hence, we have been making adequate budget for the expected surge. Significantly, this could be attributed to the massive awareness and campaign we created over the period,” he noted.
He also addressed concerns raised by students over delays in the payment of the monthly upkeep allowance of N20,000, assuring that all outstanding payments would be settled promptly.
“We acknowledge the outbursts and concerns of the affected students. But we have done the necessary cleansing of the system to ensure timely and seamless disbursement of the upkeep now and going forward,” he said.
Iyal disclosed that a reconciliation exercise carried out after the 2024/2025 academic session revealed that 11,685 students are owed a total of N927.98 million in outstanding upkeep payments.
“But let me be very clear. These are not cases of withheld funds or policy failure. Rather, they are the result of technical and operational issues, including temporary network downtime, failed transactions, and instances where bank account details could not be validated at the time of processing,” he explained.
He added that management has approved a one-time reconciliation process involving direct engagement with affected students, a grace period for updating bank details, multi-layer validation, and prompt payment once issues are resolved.
“Nevertheless, our objective is straightforward: every eligible student must receive what is due to him or her, accurately, transparently, and without delay,” he said, adding that some beneficiaries from the 2023/2024 batch have already indicated interest in repaying their loans.
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