The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that its student loan scheme will now be available to state-owned tertiary institutions within the next three weeks.
The development comes after the successful launch of the NELFUND portal on May 24, which initially catered to students from federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges.
Speaking at a press briefing, Akintunde Sawyerr, the Managing Director of NELFUND revealed he was satisfied with the overwhelming response to the scheme, saying over 60,000 students have already registered on the portal.
However, Sawyerr clarified that registration alone does not guarantee completed applications. So far, only 30,000 students have successfully applied.
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In line with NELFUND’s commitment to expanding access to higher education, the fund will begin accepting applications from students attending state-owned tertiary institutions starting June 25, he added.
However, this date remains tentative and depends on timely data submission by the institutions.
Sawyerr, therefore, urged all state institutions to promptly submit their student data to facilitate a smooth application process.
While over 90 percent of federal institutions have already submitted their student data, Sawyerr called on the remaining two federal universities and five federal polytechnics to expedite their submissions.
