NELFUND announces new guidelines on upkeep loan disbursement

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced changes to its upkeep loan disbursement for benefiting students.

Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, Director of Strategic Communications, NELFUND, in a statement on Thursday, August 21, said the new guidelines were designed to ensure efficient and effective upkeep service delivery to students.

She said the new guidelines stipulate that upkeep loan disbursement is strictly tied to the academic session of each institution.

She added that students shall only be entitled to upkeep loans for their current academic session, and upon the conclusion of an institution’s academic year, upkeep payments for that session shall automatically cease.

“Consequently, students who transition into a new academic year will no longer receive upkeep disbursements for the preceding session.

“Furthermore, interested loan applicants are required to apply for the loan at the beginning of every academic session to be eligible for both institutional charges and upkeep for that particular session,” she explained.

NELFUND informed that its loan portal is being automated to reflect the new adjustment, adding that the portal will henceforth display only the upkeep loans that have been collected by each student within the relevant session.

It advised institutions 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.

NELFUND said it remains committed to its mandate of providing accessible, transparent, and efficient loan support to Nigerian students and counts on the cooperation of all stakeholders in the smooth implementation of this directive.