Only Federal University Students Eligible for Loans for Now: FG

The federal government announced that the student loan scheme will initially be available only to applicants from federal universities. This phased rollout was disclosed on Monday by Akintunde Sawyerr, managing director of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), during a conference in Abuja.

“We will soon begin a programme for those seeking vocational skills or qualifications. However, the first beneficiaries of this loan are students of federal institutions at all levels. It will eventually include students from all government institutions,” Mr. Sawyerr said.

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This announcement follows the recent confirmation that the student loan portal will open on May 24. According to Mr. Sawyerr, up to 1.2 million students from federal tertiary institutions will be eligible to receive the loans.

Eligibility for the loan requires institutions to submit their students’ data to the fund’s dashboard. “We encourage all students in federal institutions to take advantage of this opportunity for financial assistance. Applicants should submit their applications early for timely processing,” Mr. Sawyerr added.

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The loan application process has been simplified and will cover 100% of each applicant’s school fees, with payments made directly to the institutions. Additionally, beneficiaries will receive monthly stipends to support their living expenses during their studies. 

“We recognize that paying fees alone may not be sufficient, so we will also make monthly payments to students,” said Mr. Sawyerr.Beneficiaries are expected to begin repaying the loans two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.