Over 60,000 students from Federal universities have registered for the student loan since the application portal launched last Friday.
The Fund also announced that the portal would be open for applications from students at state-owned tertiary institutions on June 25th, 2024.
Akintunde Sawyerr, the Fund’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, disclosed this during a Post-Application launch press conference in Abuja on Thursday.
NELFUND further stated that 90% of federal universities have already uploaded their students’ data to its dashboard, with the remaining 10% yet to do so.
While highlighting the spike in student applications, Sawyerr said that 30,000 applicants had finished the application procedure.
He praised President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, the Minister of Education, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, among others, for their persistent efforts to make a positive difference in the lives of Nigerian students.
Recall that on June 12, 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023 into law, which allows indigent students to obtain interest-free loans for their educational endeavours at any Nigerian higher institution.
The Nigerian Students Loan Law also established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which is responsible for processing all loan requests, grants, disbursements, and recovery.
Sawyerr said: “Since the launch of our student loan application portal last Friday for students in Federal institutions of higher learning, we have witnessed an extraordinary surge in applications, with over 60,000 submissions since inception.
“Since we opened the portal last Friday, we have over 9.5 million visits to the site. When I say nine and a half million, I do not necessarily mean that they are different people because some people could visit the site multiple times.
“The overwhelming response serves as a testament to the critical need for financial assistance among our student population, and we remain committed to addressing this urgent demand.
“To ensure efficient application processing, we are pleased to report that over 90% of Federal Institutions of higher learning have submitted their students’ data to NELFUND.
“However, we urge the remaining two Federal Universities and five federal polytechnics to expedite the process to ensure that all eligible students can access our financial support,” he stated.
The NELFUND boss also revealed that the loan scheme has been expanded to students attending state-owned higher institutions, adding that the portal for loan applications would open for the students in three weeks.
He noted that this was in line with the determination of the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in ensuring that no one is left behind.
“In line with our commitment to democratize higher education, we are excited to announce that NELFUND will commence accepting applications from students attending state-owned tertiary institutions in three weeks.
“We request all state institutions to submit their students’ data immediately, as requested, to facilitate a smooth and seamless application process,” he stated.
Sawyerr also revealed the plan of NELFUND to soon launch a comprehensive skills acquisition programme for youth within the next six months, aimed at providing practical, market-relevant skills.
”Beyond financial assistance, NELFUND recognizes the profound importance of equipping our youth with practical, market-relevant skills. Six months from today, we will launch a comprehensive skills acquisition program, providing training in various vocational and technical fields.
“This programme is designed to prepare students to meet the demands of the modern job market, fostering entrepreneurship and innovation among our young people,” he said.