The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has received nearly 2.45 million applications since the launch of its student loan scheme in May 2024, with N375.28bn disbursed to more than 1.67 million students across 320 institutions.
The latest disbursement report, generated on November 12, 2026, showed that the fund had paid N194.77bn directly to beneficiary institutions to cover tuition fees, while N180.51bn was released to students as upkeep allowances.
The cumulative disbursement of N375,282,425,723.25 was recorded as of October 29, according to the report.
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NELFUND also received 13,739 new applications on November 11, bringing the total number of applications since the scheme commenced on May 24, 2024, to 2,449,717.
The figures highlight the growing demand for financial assistance among students seeking access to higher education, as the Federal Government continues to expand the scheme.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, has urged ministries, departments and agencies to intensify awareness of the loan scheme to ensure eligible students benefit from it.
Sawyerr made the appeal during a sensitisation roadshow organised by the fund at the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in Abuja.
He said MDAs were important stakeholders in national development and could help communicate accurate information about the scheme to students, parents and guardians.
“The purpose of this roadshow is to deepen awareness and understanding of NELFUND’s mandate, operations and the opportunity available to eligible Nigerian students to access financial support for higher education,” he said.
The NELFUND chief executive said the engagement was also intended to address misconceptions about the scheme and improve public understanding of its operations.
He commended the ministry’s management and staff for their participation and contributions during the session.
Also speaking, NELFUND’s Director of SERVICOM, Olusola Fowobaje, said the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs was selected because of its grassroots connections and role in efforts to reduce poverty.
He said although many civil servants might have encountered information about the loan scheme on television and social media, they needed a better understanding of its benefits and requirements.
“They are parents and guardians, so they need the in-depth information of the product that NELFUND has,” Fowobaje said.
He stressed that the scheme was not a commercial product, adding that loans were provided to students in federal and state government-owned institutions without interest.
“The fortunate thing about this product is that we are not selling the product. We are giving it out in the form of loans to our students, to our children in federal and state government institutions, without interest,” he said.
Fowobaje said the sensitisation team had also visited the Ministry of Regional Development, while further engagements were planned with other MDAs and security agencies’ barracks.
He said the awareness campaign was necessary partly because information available to the fund indicated that some students who received loans still collected school fees from their parents.
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