NELFund sets Feb 22 to open portal for 2024/25 student loan applications

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it will open applications for 2024/25 student loans on February 22.

Akintunde Sawyerr, NELFund MD, spoke at a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.

He said NELFund will close the 2023/2024 loan application cycle by Feb 21 and open the portal for the 2024/25 run on February 22.

“I’m pleased to announce that the 2024 to 2025 application cycle will officially commence on February the 22nd, 2025,” he said.

Sawyerr said in just 220 days, 364,042 applications have been received with an average of 1,000 applications per day.

“I am proud to announce that N22,736,960,971.58 has been disbursed to cover institutional fees across 150 institutions directly benefiting 215,514 students,” he said.

Sawyerr added that a total of N12,818,960,000 has been disbursed as upkeep support reaching 169,114 students.

He said each receives a N20,000 monthly to assist with their living expenses.

“As part of our commitment to efficiency, transparency and continuous improvement, we are here today to announce the closure of the 2023 to 2024 session application cycle on our student loan portal,” he said.

“This marks a critical transition as we prepare to open the 2024 to 2025 application cycle. The 2023 to 2024 student loan application portal will officially close on February 21, 2025.

“We want to reassure all applicants who have successfully submitted their applications before this deadline that their applications will be processed in line with our established guidelines.

“Our team remains committed to ensuring a fair and timely review of all pending applications.”

The MD said the transition is a necessary step to streamline NELFund’s operations, align with the academic calendar, and enhance the ability to process applications efficiently.

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 in May 2024, at which time a pilot phase to serve federal tertiary institutions began.