The Federal Government has revealed that requests for leave of absence by students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ogun State have dropped dramatically from about 3,000 annually to zero, following the introduction of the student loan scheme.

According to the government, the development signals a positive impact of the initiative, which was designed to ease the financial burden on students in public tertiary institutions across the country.

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who stated this in Abuja at the weekend, noted that prior to takeoff of the scheme, thousands of students at OOU were compelled to suspend their studies annually due to inability to meet tuition and other academic expenses.

Dr Alausa explained that with access to the loan facility, students are now able to remain in school and complete their programmes without interruption, adding that the intervention is part of broader efforts to improve access to higher education and reduce dropout rates.

He described the 100 per cent reduction as encouraging, stressing that similar outcomes are expected in other beneficiary institutions as more students take advantage of the scheme.

He reaffirmed the commitment of the Bola Tinubu administration to sustaining policies that promote uninterrupted academic progression and enhance the quality of education in the country.

His words: “Vice-Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ogun State was telling somebody a few weeks ago. That text got to me. He said, ‘Every year, I have about 3,000 students applying for leave of absence’.

“It’s not as if they’re getting political appointments and taking leave of absence. So I called and said, ‘What does leave of absence mean?’ He said, those students would apply because they don’t have money to continue their education. They would apply for leave of absence to go and work and come back to school. One university about 3,000 students every year. He said, in the last two years, he’s had zero application for leave of absence.

“And it will end up to several, many more universities. We’ve had students that got admitted to study engineering, law, medicine and because they’re indigent, they can’t afford it. Today, that’s not the case again”.

Managed by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the students loan portal was launched on May 24, 2024  as part of the Federal Government’s effort to expand access to higher education by providing interest-free loans to indigent students in public tertiary institutions across the country.

Checks on the Fund’s dashboard revealed that as of March 28, 2026, it has disbursed over N227.5billion to more than 1.3million students across 282 beneficiary institutions.

A breakdown indicates that N146 billion was released for institutional fees, while N80 billion was paid out as upkeep allowances.

Speaking on the Fund’s activities, the Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, assured Nigerian students that no eligible beneficiary would be barred from sitting for examinations due to financial constraints.

In a recent interview, Sawyerr noted that the scheme was designed to eliminate financial barriers to tertiary education by providing interest-free loans with flexible repayment terms.

“We started the scheme of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to provide students with loans, interest-free loans, with very, very soft terms, to ensure that the situation we’ve had in this country for so long, where so many cannot commence tertiary education or are forced to drop out because of lack of funds, is addressed,” he said.

He further observed that while NELFUND is committed to swift disbursement, government funding necessitates strict institutional processes to prevent misappropriation.