NELFUND records upsurge in student loan applications after July payout

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) says it has recorded an upsurge in daily student loan applications.

Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, its spokesperson, said on Wednesday, August 7, that NELFUND saw an influx of applications from students.

NELFund said it recorded registrations from 9,687 students within one day, with 7,975 students completing their loan applications.

It said this figure is the highest it has recorded within a 24-hour window since the loan application portal opened.

The fund described the thousands of applications as an “overwhelming surge” that reflects the financial challenges students face.

NELFund added that lack of funding is “a major issue that many aspiring higher education students are facing”.

“Since the opening of the student loan application portal, NELFUND has recorded a steady and consistent influx of applications, highlighting the pressing need for financial assistance among Nigerian students,” it said.

The upsurge in applications comes after the fund disbursed July stipends to student loan applicants across six tertiary institutions.

NELFUND, on August 2, disclosed that it has disbursed over N2.5 billion for over 22,120 applicants in the student loan scheme.

Over 110,000 had applied for the scheme as of mid-July, with more than 160,000 students having registered on the NELFund portal.

President Bola Tinubu enacted an initial version of the student loan policy in June 2023 to grant interest-free loans to students.

The scheme was to commence in October 2023 but implementation was repeatedly deferred until a re-enactment in April 2024.

NELFund opened the loan application portal on May 24, at which time a pilot phase to serve federal tertiary institutions began.

The fund said the scheme would be open to state-owned tertiary institutions in its subsequent rollout.