By The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) in a release on Thursday, August 21, stated that upkeep loan disbursement is now strictly tied to the academic session of each institution. This was revealed in a statement signed by Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, Director of Corporate Communications. The release stated, “In line with this directive, students shall only be entitled to upkeep loans for their current academic session. Upon the conclusion of an institution’s academic year, upkeep payments for that session shall automatically cease.”
According to the statement, students who move into new academic sessions will not have access to the upkeep disbursements from the previous session. NELFUND further explained that interested loan applicants are required to apply for the loan at the beginning of every academic session to be eligible for both institutional charges and upkeep for that particular session.
The release stated further, “To ensure accuracy and transparency, the NELFUND loan portal is being automated to reflect this adjustment. The portal will henceforth display only the upkeep loans that have been collected by each student within the relevant session.” NELFUND stated that institutions are strongly advised to upload their academic calendars and sessional information promptly, to ensure that students receive the full benefits to which they are entitled for the entire academic year.
Additionally, apart from the loans provided directly to institutions, beneficiaries of the student loan scheme receive a monthly disbursement of ₦20,000, totalling ₦240,000 annually. According to the new directive, students will only receive the monthly ₦20,000 during the academic session, with payments being suspended during holiday periods.
