The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced a total disbursement of N32.8 billion for student loans which it says covers school fees and upkeep.
NELFUND said the disclosure became necessary due to erroneous claims making rounds that it had disbursed over N104 billion to 600 beneficiaries.
The Fund disclosed this in a statement signed by its management and made available to journalists.
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.
NELFUND said apart from school fees payments, beneficiaries have the option to receive a monthly stipend of N20,000, in addition to their loans
“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.”
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.
