The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has announced that a total of ₦161.97 billion has been disbursed to students under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.
According to NELFUND’s weekly report covering December 29, 2025, to January 4, 2026, the fund received 17,507 fresh loan applications within the period.
This brought the cumulative number of successful applications since the scheme was launched in May 2024 to 1,326,008.
The report, shared on NELFUND’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Sunday, showed that as of December 29, 2025, about 864,798 students from 263 tertiary institutions had benefited from the scheme.
It revealed that ₦89.94 billion of the total disbursement was paid directly to institutions to cover tuition and other academic charges, while ₦72.03 billion was released to students as upkeep allowances.
A statement from the fund noted, “The Nigerian Education Loan Fund continues to record steady growth in both applications and disbursements, reflecting increasing uptake of the student loan scheme across public tertiary institutions.”
NELFUND was established following the enactment of the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in April 2024.
The initiative provides interest-free loans to students in public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to cover tuition fees and living expenses, particularly for students from low-income households.
Under the scheme’s guidelines, beneficiaries are expected to begin repayment only after completing their studies and securing employment, a provision designed to ease access to higher education and reduce financial pressure on students and their families.
NELFUND reiterated its commitment to expanding access to education, stating that the loan programme is aimed at “removing financial barriers and ensuring that no eligible student is denied higher education due to lack of funds.”
