NELFUND hinges delays on ‘sluggish’ response of tertiary institutions
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has identified sluggish response of tertiary institutions as the primary reason for the delay in disbursing federal government’s student loans.
This clarification came after some students expressed frustration over the slow approval process for their loan applications.
Responding to a tweet on why students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) are yet to receive their loans, the agency identified the slow pace of tertiary institutions as the primary cause of delays in disbursing the facility.
“At the verification stage, most of the responsibility lies with your institutions to confirm your status as a student before final approval is granted,” the agency responded.
Similarly, another student, who identified himself as @TheManAcalypha on X, a social networking service, expressed frustration that students of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, had not yet received their loan disbursements.
On his part, Akinola Abdulsalam, also a student, voiced his disappointment, stating that his loan application had been stuck in limbo for over five months.
“I applied for the loan since August 2024, both stipends and school fees. The loan for payment of tuition wasn’t received by me and I had to source somewhere else. Also, I didn’t get the stipends. This is January, when would I be getting my stipends?”
Similarly, a student who identified himself as Damilare_Kola, lamented that his loan was approved only after his graduation.
“I applied for the loan early last year hoping it will get approved on time, but it didn’t, and now, it has been approved and I have gotten upkeep for the months of September, October and November. My main concern now is that I graduated last year and I have paid the school fee,” he said.
On his part, a student of Delta State University, Abraka, Feranmi Marcus, lamented that the deadline for paying his school fees had passed, while he was still awaiting the disbursement of his loan by NELFUND.
Meanwhile, the agency has approved the disbursement of N20,075 billion to 192,906 students enrolled in public tertiary institutions across the federation.
An update by NELFund on its official X handle, revealed that the fresh disbursement was released to 133 tertiary institutions as of January 1, 2025.
According to the breakdown, Bayero University, Kano (BUK) got the lion’s share with 11,683 students receiving a total of N1.3 billion, while Abia State Polytechnic got the smallest disbursement of N106,300 to two students.
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