NELFUND to Suspend Student Upkeep Loans During School Holidays

​The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that the disbursement of upkeep loans will now be strictly tied to the academic calendar of each institution.

​In a statement signed by its Director of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, NELFUND clarified the new policy.

​“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. Consequently, students who transition into a new academic year will no longer receive upkeep disbursements for the preceding session.” the statement read.

​NELFUND advised that interested applicants must apply for a loan at the start of each new academic session to be eligible for both institutional charges and upkeep payments for that specific year.

​To ensure accuracy and transparency, NELFUND’s loan portal is being automated to reflect this change.

The portal will now only display upkeep loans that have been collected by each student within the relevant session.

​Oluwatuyi also urged institutions to act promptly, stating, “Institutions are therefore strongly advised to upload their academic calendars and sessional information in a timely manner to guarantee that their students receive the full upkeep benefits due to them for an entire academic year.”

​Under the student loan scheme, beneficiaries receive a monthly upkeep disbursement of N20,000, which totals N240,000 annually.

Institutional loans are disbursed directly to the schools.

​With this new directive, students will only receive the monthly N20,000 payment during academic sessions, and disbursements will be suspended when students are on holiday.