NELFund disbursed billions to students, plans job portal

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) has announced more than NGN77 billion (US$50million) has been disbursed for tuition and upkeep to 396,252 students across 210 tertiary institutions nationwide after the launch of its application portal last year, reports Patience Olumati for Radio Nigeria.

Akintunde Sawyer, managing director of NELFund, made the disclosure during a media engagement held to commemorate the scheme’s one-year anniversary. Sawyer emphasised the need for accurate and factual reporting of the student loan programme to encourage increased participation by prospective applicants and investors while strengthening public confidence in the initiative.

In response to concerns regarding unemployment and loan repayment, Sawyer revealed that NELFund was already developing a job portal, expected to launch within the next year, to support loan beneficiaries in securing employment opportunities after graduation. He maintained loan repayment would only commence after graduates secure employment, following their National Youth Service Corps year.
Full report on the Radio Nigeria site