The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) announced on Thursday that the disbursement of upkeep loans will now be strictly aligned with the academic calendar of each institution.
This update was disclosed in a statement signed by Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, NELFUND’s Director of Corporate Communications.
“Following this new policy, students will only receive upkeep loans during their current academic session. Once an institution’s academic year ends, upkeep payments for that session will automatically stop,” Oluwatuyi explained.
He added that students progressing to a new academic year will no longer receive upkeep disbursements for the previous session.
NELFUND also emphasized that students must apply for loans at the start of each academic session to be eligible for both institutional charges and upkeep payments for that specific period.
“To enhance accuracy and ensure transparency, the NELFUND loan portal is being updated to reflect these changes. Going forward, the portal will display only the upkeep payments made to students within each academic session,” Oluwatuyi stated.
He urged institutions to promptly upload their academic calendars and sessional details to ensure their students receive full upkeep benefits throughout the academic year.
In addition to institutional loans paid directly to schools, student loan beneficiaries receive a monthly upkeep allowance of N20,000, totaling N240,000 annually. However, under the new policy, this monthly payment will only be made during active academic sessions and will be suspended during holiday breaks.
