By Chiekezie Emmanuel

The Vice-Chancellor of Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Prof. Aloysius Michaels Okolie, attended the South-East National Education Loan Fund sensitization alongside the University Dean of Students Affairs, Prof. Ifeoma Okwor. The program was organized by NELFUND and TETFund in Enugu State.

Prof. Aloysius spoke during an interview with an ESUT Monitor Newspaper reporter immediately after the event at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC) Hall on Friday.

He stated that the essence of the sensitization is to create awareness about the interest-free loan established by the Federal Government. 

A combined team of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), alongside TETFund, was present at the program.

“So, they are here to sensitize us generally on the need to begin to key into the scheme.

And that is why today they invited all heads of tertiary institutions in the South East,” he said.

He emphasized that the program was mapped out for the South East to enlighten stakeholders on the need to participate in the ongoing Federal project. 

“We have started interfacing. So, they tried to impress it on us to improve the level of registration of our students.”

Prof. Aloysius noted that the South East is the least among the zones that have keyed into NELFUND. 

“And you discover that even in a university in the North East, the number of registered students in that particular university is more than the total number of people that have registered in the entire South East,” he said.

“That is why there is the need for us to change our orientation, change our values, and begin to appreciate the need for this NELFUND loan, which to me is not technically a loan. 

In my own local parlance, _’anansina ndi Igbo adia agba last’. Since it is a national initiative, and the greatest thing about it is that it is an interest-free loan. 

So, everybody, whether your father is well-to-do or has a lot to commend him, the critical point is: come and take the loan.

He also encouraged people from the South East to extend the sensitization to local communities, and called on parents to enlighten and encourage their wards to collect this interest-free loan so that nobody will have the excuse again that, _”I’m unable to send my child to school because there is no money.”_

“This is precisely the key message from the sensitization. And I want to place it on record that this is about the fifth sensitization we have been part of. We are doing our best to make sure that our people are not being shortchanged in the South East.”

He pledged to continue enlightening and encouraging students of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) and students in all universities to key in in the peoject.

Many heads of tertiary institutions Rectors, Provosts, Vice-Chancellors  were also in attendance with their Bursars and key officers to demonstrate the seriousness of the campaign, he said.

Prof. Aloysius appreciated ESUT Monitor newspaper for covering the event. 

“We thank you for being here to cover it, and we are looking forward to harvesting optimally the gains of this sensitization,” he said.

“I am not worried about the low turnout of ESUT students in NELFUND because in the entire South East, ESUT has carried the banner of being the highest institution in terms of registration. We have done well, but we are not yet satisfied. We have not gotten there.”

Also speaking at the event, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)Enugu State,Comrade Okeke Kelvin emphasized that the loan is, in another word, a grant. This is because the rules guiding the loan state that you will start paying back only when you are employed. 

“And the guidelines also state that even if you travel out of the country or become self-employed, you are not paying the loan until you get a job,” he said. 

“So, the question is: what is hindering you from participating and getting this loan? 

Since you know that even if you get a job, you will pay the loan, and until you get a job, you won’t. The job will start paying you enough for you to pay back the loan. So, the money you are wasting today, why not save it and put it into something else and make use of government money for schooling.”

He further urged all the student participants who attended the program to extend the message to other students on how crucial it is to participate and get this loan.

He also revealed the Association’s efforts in sensitizing students about the initiative. 

They shared questionnaires with all the institutions to get their direct opinions and knowledge about the ongoing NELFUND initiative. 

“My team and I started engaging them after the research, visiting some local governments to talk to their parents, to help us talk to their children in school, and to work towards getting them to apply for it.”

Some of the dignitaries present were, senator representing Anambra North, Sen.Tony Nwoye; senator Kelvin Chukwu, Hon. Cyracus Umeha, Member representing Ezeagu/Udi Federal Constituency; Igwe Asadu, Traditional Ruler of Edem Nsukka Local Government, among others.

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The Nigerian Education Loan Fund said the application portal for the 2024/2025 academic session will officially close on Tuesday.

The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Monday.

Sawyerr said this was to allow the Fund to conclude processing of pending applications and upkeep payments.

He also announced timelines for the 2025/2026 academic cycle, in line with its mandate to expand access to higher education through interest-free student loans.

According to him, the loan portal will reopen in the second week of October for fresh applications and remain open until January 2026.

”NELFUND remains committed to removing financial barriers for students and working with institutions to ensure that no eligible student is left behind.

“These timelines provide clarity for students, parents, and institutions to plan and participate fully in the process,” Sawyerr said.

The managing director directed institutions to update their students’ records on the Student Verification System to enable applicants access the scheme.

He added that all unverified applications for 2024/2025 would be automatically cancelled after Oct. 8, noting that students affected would be required to reapply under the new session.

He warned that institutions that failed to verify students’ records risk being publicly listed for non-compliance.

On upkeep stipends, Sawyerr explained that the payment for the 2024/2025 session would continue until November, adding that students were expected to reapply for 2025/2026 to continue receiving payments.

On repayment terms, he reiterated that the scheme remained interest-free while repayment would begin two years after completion of the National Youth Service Corps, with employers mandated to deduct 10 per cent of beneficiaries’ salaries.

He further expressed concern over arbitrary hikes in tuition and ancillary fees by some institutions, noting that a committee set up by the Minister of Education is working with regulators to harmonise and standardise fee structures across institutions.

Responding to concerns about upkeep stipends, he said the current ₦20,000 monthly allowance would not be increased immediately.

Sawyerr said an ongoing review of cost-of-living indices across different regions could however lead to weighted adjustments in future.

The Punch

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The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced the disbursement of a total of  ₦86.3 billion loan to 449,039 students since the scheme was launched on its portal on May 24, 2024.

This is according to the latest daily status report released on Monday, August 11, 2025, the scheme disbursed the loan as of August 6, 2025. Data from the dashboard shows a daily increase of 933 in the number of successful registrants and an additional 1,094 successful applicants.

The Fund noted that “the scheme delivers on President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda of empowering every Nigerian student through access to higher education funding.”

It said the disbursement included ₦47,629,338,384 paid directly to 218 institutions as tuition fees and ₦38,718,120,000 given to students as upkeep allowances.

The report further revealed that 731,140 students have registered on the loan portal, out of which 720,732 have successfully applied for loans — representing a 98% application success rate.

Data from the dashboard shows a daily increase of 933 in the number of successful registrants and an additional 1,094 successful applicants.

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The Nigerian Education Loan Fund said it received over 745,000 applications for its interest-free student loan scheme, with 2,700 of the requests submitted in the last 24 hours.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this at the two-day Renewed Hope Student Leaders’ Engagement, organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students’ Engagement in partnership with the Rivers State Government, held at the University of Port Harcourt on Friday.

He said, “So far, we have over 745,000 Nigerians who have applied for this loan. Out of this number, we have over 400,000 students who are benefiting from this loan.

“They have their school fees paid at the tertiary level, and some of them who have applied for upkeep are receiving N20,000 per month, per session.

“So far, we have disbursed over N80 billion to Nigerian institutions and Nigerians who are benefiting from the loan.

“We are receiving applications. In the last 24 hours, we had 2,700 applications. We are processing them.”

Sawyerr further said the law establishing NELFUND was recently repealed and re-enacted to allow funding from non-governmental sources.

 “In other words, people who want to contribute to the fund from outside government, whether they are philanthropists, general donors, NGOs, people with special interest in education, they can bring their money into that fund for it to be dedicated to the provision of loans or even grants, if they want, to the students,” he explained.

The NELFUND boss noted that the scheme offers two categories of loans — institutional loans to cover tuition and upkeep loans to support living expenses, saying both are interest-free, with repayment starting two years after completion of the National Youth Service Corps programme.

“If the payment is not complete and you lose your job the payment stops,” Sawyerr said, adding that employers have a statutory duty to deduct 10% from beneficiaries’ salaries once repayment begins.

“The only exception is that if you have your own business and you are paying yourself a salary, you are obliged to put the business or company that you set up to make those payments back to NELFUND,” he added.

In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Students’ Engagement, Asefon Dayo, said the event was a platform to bridge the gap between the government and students.

“Our mission is clear: to engage student leaders meaningfully, inform them about the far-reaching reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in education and youth development, and hear from them directly,” Dayo said.

He further said NELFUND has significantly reduced the rate of dropouts in tertiary institutions and announced that the President had approved funding for 15 colleges of education, polytechnics, and universities to establish innovation hubs and entrepreneurship centres, including robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and electronics labs.

Punch

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The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) said its total disbursement for student loans covering school fees and upkeep stands at N32.8 billion as of 3 February 2025.

The Fund disclosed this on Monday in a statement signed by its management. NELFUND said the disclosure became necessary due to erroneous claims making rounds that it had disbursed over N104 billion to 600 beneficiaries.

NELFUND said it has received a total of 364,042 student loan applications since inception and has approved 192,906 applications.

The Fund said it has disbursed a total of N20 billion (N20,074,050,000) for institutional fees as of 3 February. It added that it has disbursed N12 billion (N12,818,960,000) as upkeep to 169,114 students.

Apart from school fees payments, beneficiaries have the option to receive a monthly stipend of N20,000, in addition to their loans

NELFUND said the disclosure became necessary due to erroneous claims making rounds that it had disbursed over N104 billion to 600 beneficiaries.

“The management of NELFUND under the leadership of Akintunde Sawyerr wishes to correct the inaccurate reports regarding the total amount disbursed under the Student Loan Scheme,” it said in the statement.

“We appreciate the unwavering support of President Bola Tinubu (GCFR) in making higher education accessible to all deserving Nigerian students. NELFUND remains committed to transparency and efficiency in managing the student loan scheme and will continue to provide accurate updates as disbursements progress.”

Student Loan scheme

Shortly after assuming office, President Tinubu provided assent to the Access to Higher Education Act (2023) to provide interest-free loans to Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions.

The law also provided the legal framework for the establishment of NELFUND which manages applications and disburses student loans.

The Fund, according to the Act, is to be funded from multiple streams and will engage in other productive activities.

It will also be funded through donations, gifts, grants, endowments, and revenue accruing to the fund from any other source, according to the Act.

After three failed attempts, NELFUND kicked off operation in May last year.

Premium Times Credited.

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By Ani Ruth

The Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) has directed students of the institution to apply for the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) loan

The university gave the directive via a memo on March 13, 2026 after the NELFUND portal for the 2024/2025 academic session was opened. The portal opened on February 22^nd.

The circular signed by the ESUT Registrar, Ambrose Ugwu, notified students and the university community about the opportunity to apply for the NELFUND loan.

The memo outlined the application process, advising interested students to visit the portal at (https://portal.nelf.gov.ng).

Applicants are instructed to create a new account and follow the subsequent steps provided on the portal.

The university advised students to take advantage of the opening to secure financial support for their tuition fees.

As of February 3rd, 2025, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed a total of N32.8 billion, including N20 billion for institutional fees and over N12 billion for upkeep (stipends), benefiting 192,906 students.

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