NELFUND disburses N140bn in student loans to 788,000

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund said it has disbursed N140.9 billion in student loans to beneficiaries since the scheme’s portal was launched on May 24, 2024.

According to the Daily Status Report released on Sunday via its official X handle, NELFUND has received 1,193,228 applications, of which 788,947 students have benefited from the programme.

As of November 12, 2025, the report shows 35,773 new successful applications for the week and 3,367 on that day, representing a 0.3% increase in new applications from the previous day.

NELFUND said it has paid N140,884,471,740 to 262 institutions as tuition fees, including N88,947,000 as institutional fees and N53,776,000,000 in upkeep allowances.

NELFUND had earlier said that the fund plans to extend its student loan scheme to cover vocational and skills acquisition programmes.

The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, saying the extension aligns with the Federal Government’s broader education and skills development agenda.

He added that the move reflects President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to inclusive human capital development beyond traditional university education.

According to Sawyerr, Nigeria’s next phase of development requires a balance between academic and technical competence.

“At NELFUND, we have a mandate to also support vocational skills.

“We have not started yet, but I know that the President Bola Tinubu administration has ensured that there is full coverage around the skills issue,” he said.