The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed a complete of N375.28 billion in student loans to Nigerian college students because the launch of its student loan portal in May 2024.
The fund made this identified in its Student Loan Disbursement Status Report posted on its official X account on Monday.
The newest figures spotlight the programme’s growth because the launch of its utility portal, with disbursements persevering with to rise as extra college students apply for monetary assist.
Disbursement abstract
The report, generated on Monday, November 9, 2026, exhibits that the fund has paid N194.77 billion in institutional charges to 320 beneficiary establishments, whereas N180.51 billion has been disbursed on to college students as maintenance allowances.
- This brings present whole variety of student loan disbursements to N375.28 billion.
- The report additionally exhibits that cumulative disbursement covers 1,675,474 student loans.
The N375.28 billion disbursed represents a rise of N19.41 billion, or roughly 5.5%, from the N355.87 billion reported by NELFUND in its earlier report in September 2026.
Applications obtained
NELFUND reported that cumulative purposes obtained because the scheme commenced reached 2,413,879 as of November 9, 2026.
The fund obtained 2,296 new purposes on November 8, bringing the overall variety of purposes obtained because the programme’s launch in 2024, to greater than 2.4 million.
NELFUND’s student loan scheme was launched on May 24, 2024, to offer monetary assist to Nigerian college students pursuing increased training in public tertiary establishments.
The scheme covers institutional charges paid on to beneficiary establishments and maintenance allowances transferred to eligible college students to assist their residing bills.
NELFUND’s student loan journey thus far
Since its launch, NELFUND’s student loan programme has expanded when it comes to purposes and funds launched to college students and tertiary establishments. However, the implementation of the scheme has additionally introduced cost delays and different operational points to the fore.
- In March 2026, NELFUND disclosed that it had disbursed N206.29 billion to 1,164,222 beneficiaries, with whole purposes reaching 1,734,985.
- By August 19, 2026, cumulative disbursements had risen to N322.69 billion. This comprised N192.89 billion paid to 319 tertiary establishments and N129.80 billion launched as maintenance allowances.
- Despite the expansion in funding, the scheme has confronted challenges in delivering funds to college students. In January 2026, NELFUND identified N927.98 million in outstanding upkeep allowances owed to 11,685 students, blaming failed transactions, community downtime and unvalidated financial institution particulars.
- In July 2026, some beneficiaries also raised concerns over delays in receiving their upkeep allowances, including to issues in regards to the well timed supply of monetary assist underneath the programme.
- The fund has additionally explored adjustments to how tuition charges are paid. In July, NELFUND announced plans to introduce a digital token-based payment system to replace direct payments to tertiary institutions, with the intention of giving college students better management over tuition funds and stopping double funds.
By September 3, 2026, NELFUND’s cumulative disbursements had increased to N355.87 billion, with 1,659,853 applications processed. Of the overall quantity, N192.89 billion had been paid to 319 beneficiary establishments, whereas N162.98 billion had been launched as maintenance allowances.
