The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has issued a revised directive that will discontinue the disbursement of upkeep loans during school holidays.
Under the new guidelines, loan disbursements will no longer carry over automatically into subsequent academic years.
Students progressing to a new session will be required to submit fresh applications to continue receiving financial support for upkeep.
“Upkeep payments will automatically end once an institution’s academic year concludes,” NELFUND clarified.
NELFUND, in a statement signed by its Director of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, on Thursday, noted that upkeep loans will henceforth be strictly tied to the academic session of each institution.
“In line with this directive, students shall only be entitled to upkeep loans for their current academic session. Upon the conclusion of an institution’s academic year, upkeep payments for that session shall automatically cease.
“Consequently, students who transition into a new academic year will no longer receive upkeep disbursements for the preceding session,” Oluwatuyi said in the statement.
NELFUND further advised that interested loan applicants are required to apply for the loan at the beginning of every academic session to be eligible for both institutional charges and upkeep for that particular session.
“To ensure accuracy and transparency, the NELFUND loan portal is being automated to reflect this adjustment. The portal will henceforth display only the upkeep loans that have been collected by each student within the relevant session.
“Institutions are therefore strongly advised to upload their academic calendars and sessional information in a timely manner to guarantee that their students receive the full upkeep benefits due to them for an entire academic year,” he stated.
Apart from loans disbursed directly to institutions, beneficiaries of the student loan scheme enjoy a monthly disbursement of ₦20,000.
As of August 21, 2205, a total of ₦86 billion has been disbursed to 449, 039 student beneficiaries nationwide under the scheme.
