The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that student loans under the newly implemented Higher Education Loan Scheme will not be paid directly into students’ personal bank accounts. Instead, funds will be disbursed straight to educational institutions to cover tuition and other approved academic expenses.
This clarification comes amid growing questions and speculation from prospective applicants about how the loan system will function.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, NELFUND’s management emphasized that the decision was made to ensure transparency and proper utilization of the loans for their intended purpose.
“We want to make it unequivocally clear that the funds will not be transferred to individual students. Disbursements will be made directly to the tertiary institutions, in line with the tuition fees and associated costs submitted by the schools,” the statement read.
NELFUND also noted that students would still receive allowances to cover essential needs such as accommodation and feeding, but even these will be carefully monitored and disbursed through controlled channels.
The agency reassured the public of its commitment to fairness and accountability as the scheme rolls out nationwide, beginning with public tertiary institutions.
The student loan program, signed into law in 2023 by President Bola Tinubu and revised in 2024, aims to provide financial assistance to Nigerian students from low-income backgrounds, enabling them to pursue higher education without the burden of immediate out-of-pocket expenses.
Applications for the 2025/2026 academic session are set to open later this month via the official NELFUND portal.
source: Legit.ng
