Beneficiaries of the student loan scheme administered by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) will no longer get upkeep loan disbursement during school holidays.
NELFUND, in a statement signed by its Director of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, on Thursday said upkeep loan disbursement is now strictly tied to the academic session of each institution.
Besides the institutional loans disbursed directly to institutions, beneficiaries of the student loan scheme also get monthly upkeep loan of N20,000 amounting to N240,000 per year.
The new directive means that students will now only enjoy the monthly upkeep when the schools are in session while disbursement will be discontinued once students go on vacation.
“In line with this directive, students shall only be entitled to upkeep loans for their current academic session. Upon the conclusion of an institution’s academic year, upkeep payments for that session shall automatically cease,” the statement said.
“Consequently, students who transition into a new academic year will no longer receive upkeep disbursements for the preceding session,” it said.
NELFUND advised interested loan applicants 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.
“To ensure accuracy and transparency, the NELFUND loan portal is being automated to reflect this adjustment. The portal will henceforth display only the upkeep loans that have been collected by each student within the relevant session,” the statement said.
“Institutions are therefore strongly advised 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,” it said.
