NELFUND Says Nearly 800,000 Students Benefit from Student Loan Scheme
- The latest data from NELFund shows that 788,947 students have benefited from the student loan scheme to date, with total loans disbursed at N140.88 billion
- The agency has recorded 1,193,228 applications from 262 institutions since the portal was opened in 2024
- Tuition disbursements to beneficiaries have reached N82.34 billion, while N58.53 billion has been paid as upkeep allowance
Oluwatobi Odeyinka is a business editor at Legit.ng, covering energy, the money market, tech and macroeconomic trends in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has said that, so far, 788,947 students have benefitted from the federal government’s student loan scheme, out of a total of 1,193,228 applications submitted since the platform went live.
The agency released the updated figures in data sheets shared on its official social media page on Sunday.
Source: Getty Images
NELFUND disclosed that as of November 12 2025, the total value of loan disbursement was N140.88 billion, noting that N82.34 billion was paid as tuition fees, while an additional N58.53 billion was paid directly to students as upkeep allowance.
The agency noted that beneficiaries were from 262 tertiary institutions across the country. It added that 3,367 fresh applications were recorded the previous day.
In a separate weekly performance report covering November 24 to 30, NELFund confirmed that 35,773 applications were successfully completed within the week.
Scheme characterised by inconsistencies
The government introduced NELFUND to help indigent students access tertiary education in Nigeria. The scheme was introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2024.
The scheme was introduced following a trend of soaring tuition fees across tertiary institutions in the country, leaving many students unable to continue their education.
While many students have now benefited from the funds, there have been hiccups in the implementation of the scheme.
In a chat with Sadiq Abubakar, a law student at the University of Ibadan, he lamented that the payment of the upkeep allowance has been inconsistent, and even the tuition is not disbursed early.
He told Legit.ng that he did not receive his allowance in August but received it in October. “I am yet to receive for November,” he added.
Source: Getty Images
Another student of the same institution, Segun Adeosun, said he was frustrated by the scheme’s delay in disbursing tuition fees.
“They did not disburse the last one until after the deadline set by UI (University of Ibadan). Some of my colleagues quickly raised money on their own to pay the fees themselves, but I didn’t have the money, so I had to go and make a case for myself at the admin department,” Adeosun said.
Universities with highest applications
Legit.ng earlier reported that northern universities dominate the application list for the student loan. About 27,736 applications were recorded in Bayero University, followed by Kano’s 27,736 applications, while the Federal University, Dutsin-Ma came third with 24,810.
Ahmadu Bello University secured 23,338 applications, while the University of Ilorin rounded out the top five with 21,921.
Other universities with significant numbers include Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology with 15,021, University of Uyo with 15,681, Taraba State University with 14,989, Federal University Dutse with 14,767, and Federal University of Kashere with 14,698.
Source: Legit.ng
