The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed N56.85 billion in student loans to 298,124 students across 198 institutions as part of its nationwide rollout of the student loan scheme.
This was disclosed in a status report released by NELFUND highlighting progress made since the loan portal was launched on May 24, 2024, till May 29, 2025.
As of May 23, 2025, the fund had paid a total of N30.17 billion directly to institutions for tuition and N26.67 billion to students as upkeep allowance, bringing the total disbursement to N56.85 billion.
A total of 298,124 students have received financial assistance through the loan scheme.
The data further shows that 607,326 students have registered on the portal, out of which 562,556 have applied for loans, representing a 92% application success rate.
The initiative has reached 298,124 student beneficiaries, marking a significant milestone in the federal government’s plan to expand access to affordable higher education.
NELFUND is preparing to expand its student loan programme beyond traditional tertiary institutions to include vocational and skills acquisition centers across Nigeria. The rollout is expected to begin in Enugu State between late June and mid-July 2025.
NELFUND also plans to deploy IT teams to integrate directly with institutional portals, to allow students to apply for loans through their school systems instead of visiting NELFUND’s website.
This integration aims to simplify the process and improve accessibility, particularly for students in remote or underfunded areas. Once launched, vocational trainees will be able to access loans that cover training fees based on the proposal submitted by each centre.