The management of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) announced on Tuesday a 14-day postponement of the application process for student loans for state institutions. The decision, according to a statement by the agency in Abuja, was due to “low data submissions.”

NELFUND explained that the postponement was necessitated by the failure of several state-owned institutions to upload the required student data and fee information to its Student Verification System. To date, only a limited number of state-owned institutions have successfully completed the data submission process: 20 state universities out of 48, 12 state colleges out of 54, and two state polytechnics out of 49.

“While we acknowledge the efforts of these institutions, the failure to submit data from the remaining state institutions poses significant challenges to ensuring a seamless and accurate verification process for student loan applicants. The application window, initially set to open on June 25, 2024, will now commence on July 10, 2024,” the statement read.

The extension is intended to provide additional time for state institutions to comply with the data submission requirements, ensuring their students benefit from the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.

To facilitate an efficient and error-free application process, NELFUND emphasized that all state institutions must provide complete and accurate information. The required information includes Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) numbers, matriculation numbers, admission numbers, full names, levels, faculties and departments, duration of programmes, fees, and gender of all eligible students.

The Fund warned that incomplete or incorrect data submissions would lead to application delays and could potentially disqualify affected students from receiving loans. Consequently, it urged all state institutions to expedite their data submission processes and ensure the accuracy of the information provided.