After some delays in its take-off, the application portal for the first phase of the student loan scheme will open on Friday, May 24 but limited to only students in federal government-owned tertiary institutions for now.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr at a student loan pre-application sensitization press conference media briefing in Abuja on Monday, said the programme would later extend to state-owned universities.

Consequently, about 1.2 million students in federal-owned universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and technical colleges whose institutions have completed and uploaded their data are eligible to apply for interest-free loans.

The application portal will be opened on May 24 marking a significant milestone government’s commitment to “foster accessible and inclusive education for all Nigerian students.”

His words: “We will start with federal institutions because it’s a programme we have to roll out in phases. It will eventually be rolled out to state-owned institutions, and as you will discover, we will also begin a programme on loan provision for those who want to acquire vocational skills or vocational qualifications”.

The student loan, which is being implemented now, is part of the Higher Education Access Act, assented to by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023. In February 2024, the Act was returned to the National Assembly for a complete overhaul and was passed again and assented to by the President.

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is the creation of the Access to Higher Education Act of 2024 while the NELFUND is the body created by the Act to handle all loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery of the loans provided. Mr Tinubu signed the new law in April.

The Fund, according to the Act, is to be funded from multiple streams and will engage in other productive activities. It will also be financed by donations, gifts, grants, endowments, and revenue accruing to the fund from any other source, according to the Act.

NELFUND had earlier announced that the portal for the loan would be opened for application on Friday for students seeking financial assistance to pay school fees and stipends.

Mr. Sawyerr disclosed that NELFUND would pay the school fees in full and directly to the institutions per session. In addition, he said the fund would also pay stipends to the beneficiary students, stressing that the stipends for students would be paid at intervals and would be “capped.”

He said: “We’ve got to pay an institutional access fee, which would give the students unfettered access to classes, examinations, tutorials, and seminars within the confines of the institution. But we will also make a monthly payment to the individual who is studying because there’s a recognition that just paying the fees alone may not be sufficient,” he said.

The NELFUND Managing Director said tertiary institutions had been asked to upload the data of their students, including the JAMB admission number and institution matriculation numbers, to the NELFUND portal stressing that while most of the institutions have provided the data, others have not.

He, however, warned that the institution’s failure to provide the data may result in their students missing out on the programme, explaining that the Fund would not be able to grant them the loan if the institutions do not provide the data.

Mr. Sawyerr warned that the institutions have to partner with the Fund so it can use this information and make the decision needed stressing: “Some institutions have not yet submitted all the data that is required. I’m not going to be doing a naming and shaming exercise here today because it just wouldn’t be fair. Some are making attempts to do that. We are encouraging them to do it quickly.”