137 federal institutions subscribed to student loan, says NELFUND

According to data from the NELFUND website revealed on Monday, 137 institutions across the country have now subscribed to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

The data did not include the names of the collaborating institutions, nor did it clarify whether they are federal or state-controlled.

In its data insight section, it merely stated, “137 collaborating with esteemed institutions”.

According to NELFUND’s Head of Media, Nasir Ayitogo, “The 137 institutions are the federal institutions.”

In a press release issued last Thursday, NELFUND stated that it will publish the full list of schools that have submitted their complete student data as requested by the agency for upload onto the NELFUND Student Verification System portal.

According to Ayitogo, the Fund will publish a list of both federal and state-owned institutions to promote openness and encourage proper access and participation in the scheme.

On April 3, President Bola Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2024 into law.

The Senate and House of Representatives separately considered the report of the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund before giving their assent.

The Act authorises the Nigeria Education Loan Fund to grant loans to qualified Nigerian students for tuition, fees, charges, and living expenses while enrolled in recognised public tertiary institutions and vocational and skills development establishments throughout the country.

Recall that NELFUND’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, once revealed that students’ accessibility to student loans would be based on the institution’s responses.

He had also noted that over 90 per cent of federal institutions had also collaborated with the Fund.