Student Loan: NELFUND to Increase N20,000 Stipends

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has said it will review the N20,000 monthly stipends to Nigerian students based on present economic realities.

The Director of Corporate Communications of the Fund, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, revealed this in Abuja on Wednesday.

Apart from institutional fees, applicants for student loans also have the opportunity of applying for upkeep loans. 

While institutional fees are paid directly into the accounts of institutions, the upkeep is paid directly into the account of the applicant.

As of now, the sum of N20,000 is paid to each student monthly.
Oluwatuyi said, “Certainly, the N20,000 per month is just a starting point, the Fund will adjust the stipend from time to time in line with economic realities.

“NELFUND will cover 100 per cent of fees for students starting from their next session (if they are already in the second semester). We won’t also pay retrospectively.”

Meanwhile, NELFUND disclosed on Wednesday that 22 more state-owned tertiary institutions had been cleared for participation in the student loan scheme.

The Fund disclosed this on its official X handle on Wednesday.

The statement posted via @NELFUND on X said, “The Nigeria Education Loan Fund has announced that students from the following 22 state-owned tertiary institutions can now apply for loans on its portal: nelf.gov.ng

“This followed a review by the committee responsible for the Student Verification System. Prior to this, 86 state-owned institutions were cleared, bringing it to a total of 108 institutions whose students are now able to apply."

The implementation of the student loan scheme is President Bola Tinubu’s flagship project in the education sector.