NELFUND has clarified the Upkeep Loan Disbursement and Application Process

Naijaonpoint Media reports that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has moved to clear the air over its recent announcement on upkeep loan disbursement, following widespread concerns from students and institutions.

In a new statement issued on August 21, 2025, NELFUND explained that two key factors influenced the decision to tie upkeep loans strictly to academic sessions:

Nigeria’s tertiary institutions do not operate under a single harmonised calendar.
To prevent duplicate upkeep payments to the same student within the same institution but across different sessions.

NelFund stated that this policy was necessary to ensure fairness, transparency, and alignment with each institution’s academic calendar.

Why Some Students May Face Rejection

NELFUND also addressed why some loan applications could be rejected, highlighting three stages where this may occur:

Application stage: Rejections may happen due to incomplete documents, incorrect account details, or mismatched names across official records.
Institutional verification stage: If schools fail to verify or decline approval of student details.
Upkeep stage: If students apply after their school’s academic session has already closed.

According to the Fund, all rejection reasons will be displayed transparently on each applicant’s dashboard, and affected students can simply reapply in the next academic session or resolve outstanding issues.

No Eligible Student Will Be Denied – NELFUND

Despite the uproar, NELFUND assured that no eligible student will be excluded from the loan scheme as long as accurate documentation is submitted within the right academic window.

The agency also urged institutions to upload their academic calendars promptly to avoid delays in student access to both tuition and upkeep loans.