Nigeria Sees Surge in Students’ Loan Applications with 60,000 Applications Since Launch 

The Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has witnessed an ‘extraordinary’ surge in applications since its launch on May 24, 2024, with over 60,000 applications from students successfully submitted.

NELFund Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, expressing the organisation’s delight with the overwhelming response, stating that it underscores the critical need for financial assistance among students.

“Since the launch of our portal last week Friday for students in federal institutions of higher learning, we have witnessed an internal surge in applications, with over 60,000 since the launch of the portal.”

“This has been an overwhelming response and it serves as a testament to the critical need for financial assistance among our student population. We, at NELFund, remain committed to addressing urgent demands, progressing, and collaborating with financial institutions to ensure successful application processing,” Sawyerr said.

Sawyerr also revealed that over 90 per cent of federal institutions of higher learning have submitted their student data to NELFund. However, two federal universities and five federal polytechnics, he said, are yet to complete the process, hindering access to financial support for eligible students.

NELFund, he said, is set to expand its services to include students attending state-owned tertiary institutions in three weeks.

“We request all state institutions to submit their student data by the requested date, June 25, to facilitate a smooth and seamless application process,” Sawyerr stated.

Beyond financial assistance, NELFund said it was also launching a comprehensive skills acquisition programme in six months.

The programme, it said, will provide training in various vocational and technical fields, aiming to equip students with practical, market-relevant skills and foster entrepreneurship and innovation.

Kuni Tyessi

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