The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the official federal government agency in charge of student loans in Nigeria, has disbursed a total of N23 billion to several individuals and 128 tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Speaking to senior journalists in Lagos recently, Akintunde Sawyerr, managing director, NELFUND, disclosed that N18 billion has been channelled to the institutions while about N5 billion has been disbursed for students’ upkeep.
“So far, we have had 326,000 individuals apply for the loan,” he said.
“A total of about N23 billion has left our account and gone to the accounts of the institutions and the accounts of individuals,” he noted.
“NELFUND is saddled with the responsibility of providing loans to Nigerian citizens who are able to gain admission, or already have admission into tertiary institutions owned by the government, both at federal and state ownership levels.
“So, students who are Nigerian citizens, who are either already in those institutions or in future gain admission into institutions, can apply for loans. And we can provide those loans for their tuition or their institutional charges, and we are also able to provide them with stipends, or pocket money, if you like,” he disclosed.
He said applications occur only once a year, noting that once accepted, NELFUND pays monthly upkeep to the students directly to their bank accounts.
“We’re also saddled with the additional responsibility of vocational and skills training to Nigerians who are interested or have the capacity to go and take on education on the skills side and handcrafts. So, we can also provide loans for those sorts of candidates at government-approved institutions,” he said.
On sources of funding, NELFUND MD noted that the law stipulates that the agency will be funded by receiving 1 percent of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)’s collections.
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