NELFUND announced on Thursday that May 24, 2024, marks the official opening date for the student loan application portal, as stated by Nasir Ayantogo, the Fund’s communications head.
Ayantogo emphasized that the launch of the application portal is a significant milestone in President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to promote accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.
On June 12, 2023, Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023, into law to facilitate access to interest-free loans for needy students pursuing tertiary education in Nigerian institutions.
According to a member of the former Presidential Strategy Team, Dele Alake, the initiative fulfills one of Tinubu’s campaign promises to liberalize education funding.
The Students Loan Law, also known as the Act, established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to handle loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery.
Despite an initial announcement that the scheme would launch in September, several delays led to an indefinite postponement in early March.
The Presidency attributed the delay to Tinubu’s directive to expand the scheme to include vocational skill loans.
Following a briefing from Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu, on January 22, the President directed the Fund to provide interest-free loans to students seeking to develop skills.
Tinubu stressed the need for the scheme to cater to students not pursuing university education, emphasizing that skill acquisition is as important as academic qualifications.
NELFUND has launched a user-friendly portal to enable students to apply for loans, providing an interface for convenient application submission.
The statement encourages eligible students to visit www.nelf.gov.ng to begin the application process and invest in their future.
