The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed a total of N116 billion in tuition fees and upkeep allowances across public tertiary institutions since the student loan scheme was launched, according to its Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr.

Speaking in Abuja during an interview with journalists, Sawyerr described the disbursement as a major milestone in the federal government’s commitment to making tertiary education affordable, inclusive and accessible to all Nigerians.

Providing a breakdown, the NELFUND chief revealed that N65 billion has been paid directly to 239 public tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, on behalf of students whose loan applications were approved. He added that an additional N51 billion was disbursed directly to beneficiaries as monthly upkeep allowances.

“We have 1,067,000 loan applications. We have been able to pay fees and upkeep for 624,000 students in 239 institutions — government-owned universities, polytechnics and colleges of education,” Sawyerr said. “We have disbursed so far N65 billion in institutional fees and N51 billion as monthly upkeep. It is a lot of money, and a lot of people have received the upkeep. In total, we have disbursed N116 billion of the federal government’s money.”

He noted that 624,000 students have benefited from the scheme so far, out of the 1,067,000 applications received, adding that NELFUND continues to record a high volume of new applications daily.

Sawyerr reiterated that the loan programme is one of the flagship social investment initiatives of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The scheme, he emphasized, is designed to eliminate financial barriers for students in tertiary institutions and ensure that no Nigerian is denied education due to lack of funds.

The NELFUND boss assured that the agency will continue to expand its capacity to process applications efficiently and ensure that students from all regions of the country benefit equitably from the intervention.