The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has announced that its application portal for the 2024/2025 academic session will officially close on Tuesday.
Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Monday.
He explained that the closure would allow the Fund to complete processing of pending applications and upkeep payments.
Sawyerr also outlined timelines for the 2025/2026 cycle, noting that the loan portal would reopen in the second week of October and remain accessible 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,” he said.
He directed institutions to update their students’ records on the Student Verification System to enable access to the scheme.
All unverified applications for 2024/2025, he added, would be automatically cancelled after October 8, with affected students required to reapply under the new session. Institutions that fail to verify records, he warned, risk being publicly listed for non-compliance.
On upkeep stipends, Sawyerr said payments for the current session would continue until November, but beneficiaries would have to reapply for 2025/2026 to sustain payments.
He stressed that the scheme remains interest-free, with repayment to commence two years after completion of the National Youth Service Corps. Employers would be mandated to deduct 10 per cent of beneficiaries’ salaries.
The managing director also raised concerns over arbitrary hikes in tuition and ancillary fees by some institutions. He said a committee set up by the Minister of Education was working with regulators to harmonise and standardise fee structures.
Responding to questions about stipends, he explained that the current ₦20,000 monthly allowance would not be increased immediately but noted that a review of cost-of-living indices could lead to weighted adjustments in the future.
