The federal government has announced that the student loan scheme will only be available to applicants from federal universities, as the program will be executed in phases.
This was announced on Monday by Akintunde Sawyerr, managing director of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), during a conference in Abuja.
“We will soon begin a programme for non-provision for those who want to acquire vocational skills or vocational qualifications. But the first beneficiaries of this loan are students of federal institutions at all levels. It will be for students of all government institutions going forward,” Mr Sawyerr said.
This comes just a few days after May 24 was declared as the official launch date for the student loan portal.
Mr Sawyerr stated that up to 1.2 million students from federal tertiary institutions will be eligible for the student loans.
He further stated that the only students who are eligible for the loan are those whose institutions have submitted their data to the fund’s dashboard.
“We encourage all students in federal institutions to take advantage of this opportunity to secure the required financial assistance for their education. Applicants must submit their applications as early as possible to ensure timely processing,” he added.
Mr Sawyer added that the loan application process, which has been simplified to enable applicants easy access, will cover 100 per cent of each applicant school fees and will be paid directly into the school’s account.
The NELFUND managing director also revealed that certain monthly stipends would be given to the beneficiaries directly to allow them to purchase additional items that would make their time in school more comfortable and that provision for vocational skills or vocational qualifications would soon be established.
“We will also make a monthly payment to the individual who’s studying because there’s a recognition that just paying the fee alone may not be sufficient,” he said.
Meanwhile, beneficiaries of the loan scheme are expected to commence repayment after two years of completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.