The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that its application portal for the 2024/2025 academic session will officially close on Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
The announcement was made by NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, during a news conference in Abuja on Monday.
He explained that the closure was necessary to conclude the processing of pending applications and upkeep payments for beneficiaries.
New timelines for 2025/2026
Sawyerr also disclosed that the portal will reopen in the second week of October 2025 for new applications and remain open until January 2026, giving prospective applicants a three-month window to submit their requests.
“NELFUND remains committed to removing financial barriers for students and working with institutions to ensure that no eligible student is left behind. These timelines provide clarity for students, parents, and institutions to plan ahead and participate fully in the process,” he said.
The managing director directed institutions to update their students’ records on the Student Verification System (SVS) to enable applicants to access the scheme.
- He warned that all unverified applications for 2024/2025 would be automatically cancelled after October 8, 2025, with affected students required to reapply under the new session.
Sawyerr cautioned institutions against laxity in updating records, noting that schools that fail to comply will risk being publicly listed for non-compliance.
Upkeep stipends
On upkeep stipends, the NELFUND boss said that disbursement of the N20,000 monthly allowance for the 2024/2025 session will continue until November. However, students would need to reapply under the 2025/2026 session to continue receiving stipends.
He clarified that the allowance will not be increased immediately, but an ongoing review of cost-of-living indices across different regions may lead to weighted adjustments in future.
On repayment, Sawyerr reiterated that the scheme is interest-free.
Beneficiaries will begin repayment two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), with employers mandated to deduct 10% of their salaries until the loan is fully repaid.
Sawyerr also raised concerns about what he described as arbitrary hikes in tuition and ancillary fees by some institutions.
He revealed that a committee set up by the Minister of Education is working with regulators to harmonise and standardise fee structures across universities and polytechnics.
What you should know
- From the latest NELFUND Student Loan Disbursement Daily Status Report, a total of 839,465 applications have been received since the portal launched on May 24, 2024, with 581,878 students benefiting from the scheme so far.
- As of September 26, 2025, N107.6 billion has been disbursed, which includes N61.3 billion for institutional fees and N46.3 billion for upkeep allowances.
- The report also shows that 231 institutions have benefited from the payments.
