Students Cry Out to NELFUND Over Delay in Monthly Upkeep Payments Since August
Beneficiaries of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) have raised concerns over the non-payment of their monthly upkeep allowance, which has reportedly been pending since August.
Several students who spoke to journalists over the weekend said that while their tuition fees had been settled directly with their institutions, the upkeep component meant to cover living expenses such as accommodation, feeding, and study materials, has not been disbursed for the past two months.
The students expressed frustration, noting that the delay is already affecting their welfare and academic focus. “We depend on the monthly upkeep to survive on campus. Since August, nothing has come in, and it has been very difficult,” one student lamented.
NELFUND had earlier explained that the student loan scheme was designed to ease the financial burden of higher education by covering both tuition and monthly stipends. According to the guidelines, beneficiaries are entitled to receive regular upkeep disbursements in addition to institutional payments.
While the Fund has continued to release data showing steady growth in tuition settlements and overall disbursements, most recently reporting ₦92.8 billion in loans to 482,000 students, there has been no official clarification on the status of the backlog in upkeep payments.
Stakeholders, including student associations, have called on NELFUND to urgently resolve the issue and provide transparency on timelines for pending payments. They warn that prolonged delays could undermine trust in the programme and worsen the hardship already faced by undergraduates.
At the time of filing this report, NELFUND had not issued a formal statement addressing the students’ concerns.