The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has announced that upkeep loan payments to students will now be limited strictly to academic sessions, and will no longer continue during school holidays.
This was contained in a statement on Thursday by NELFUND’s Director of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, who explained that the adjustment was necessary to ensure transparency and proper alignment with institutional calendars.
“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,” Oluwatuyi stated.
He further clarified that once a student moves into a new session, upkeep disbursements for the previous session would no longer apply.
“Consequently, students who transition into a new academic year will no longer receive upkeep disbursements for the preceding session,” he said.
According to the agency, beneficiaries are expected to reapply for loans at the beginning of every academic year to qualify for both tuition-related charges and upkeep support.
Oluwatuyi added that the NELFUND loan portal has been upgraded to reflect the new policy, displaying only the upkeep loans tied to each student’s active 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 advised.
Currently, student loan beneficiaries receive a monthly upkeep allowance of ₦20,000 — amounting to ₦240,000 per year. However, with the new policy, the monthly stipends will only be accessible during academic sessions and will be paused when schools are on break.