The board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has approved the disbursement of loans to successful applicants.
This decision was made on Wednesday during its inaugural meeting.
The agency’s spokesperson, Nasir Ayitogo, made this disclosure.
“By approving the immediate disbursement of the loans, NELFUND is taking a critical step in fulfilling its mission to support education and empower the next generation of leaders,” he said.
The first meeting, according to Mr. Ayitogo, also laid the groundwork for upcoming projects that will improve educational possibilities and offer all-encompassing assistance to students across various disciplines.
He further said “Under the leadership of the Board Chairman, Mr Jim Ovia, top in agenda was the approval for disbursement of student loan to successful applicants.
“This decision underscores President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s dedication to providing timely and essential financial assistance to students in need, enabling them to pursue their educational goals without undue financial stress.”
President Bola Tinubu approved N35 billion for the take – off of the student loan scheme.
According to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, the funds will be disbursed based on the timetable and calendars of the academic session of each institution.
He said: “The funds will be disbursed based on the timetable and calendars of the academic session of each institution. The portal for students to apply for the loan opened on May 24, 2024.
“The portal will be permanently open because institutions don’t have a uniform calendar,” Sawyerr added.
Applicants are required to provide their Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) letter, National Identification Number (NIN), and Bank Verification Number (BVN).
The loan, which is an equivalent of the tuition fees of the benefitting students, would be paid directly to their institutions.
But stipends would be paid directly to beneficiaries on a monthly basis to assist them buy other things that can make them comfortable while pursuing their education.
Premium Times reported that the agency would pay N20, 000 monthly stipend to successful students.
The agency is working with 126 tertiary institutions on the scheme.
Students in Federal Government-owned tertiary institutions will be the first batch of beneficiaries of the loan scheme.
Meanwhile, the commencement of the second phase of the application process, which was to start receiving applications from students in state-owned tertiary institutions from June 25, 2024 has been postponed for 14 days.
“The application window, initially set to open on 25 June, will now commence on 10 July,” NELFUND spokesman said.
The decision was necessitated by the failure of several state-owned institutions to upload the required student data and fee information to the NELFUND Student Verification System.
“To date, only a limited number of state-owned institutions have successfully completed the data submission process. These include 20 state universities out of 48, 12 state colleges out of 54, and 2 state polytechnics out of 49.
“While we acknowledge the efforts of these institutions, the failure to submit data from the remaining state institutions poses significant challenges to ensuring a seamless and accurate verification process for student loan applicants” says the management of NELFUND.
According to the law, repayment will commence two years after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
The programme will be funded with one percent of the total annual collectable revenue by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
