The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that upkeep loan disbursements will now be tied strictly to the academic calendars of institutions, ending payments once schools go on break.
In a statement signed by its Director of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, on Thursday, the agency clarified that upkeep loans will only cover active academic sessions.
“In line with this directive, students shall only be entitled to upkeep loans for their current academic session. Upon the conclusion of an institution’s academic year, upkeep payments for that session shall automatically cease. Consequently, students who transition into a new academic year will no longer receive upkeep disbursements for the preceding session,” Oluwatuyi stated.
He explained that students must reapply at the beginning of every academic session to qualify for both institutional charges and upkeep for that session.
“To ensure accuracy and transparency, the NELFUND loan portal is being automated to reflect this adjustment. The portal will henceforth display only the upkeep loans that have been collected by each student within the relevant session. Institutions are therefore strongly advised to upload their academic calendars and sessional information in a timely manner to guarantee that their students receive the full upkeep benefits due to them for an entire academic year,” the statement read.
Under the student loan scheme, institutional charges are paid directly to schools, while beneficiaries receive a monthly upkeep allowance of N20,000 — amounting to N240,000 per year. With the new directive, however, students will only be entitled to the monthly stipend during their academic session, with payments paused once schools go on holiday.
