Education

NELFUND to Review N20,000 Student Loan Stipend; Give Reasons

Published by Tope Fakinlede on August 17th, 2024.

NELFUND to Review N20,000 Student Loan Stipend; Give Reasons

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) plans to periodically reassess the N20,000 monthly stipend provided to students, adapting it to current economic conditions.

Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, the Fund’s Director of Corporate Communications, shared this update during an interview in Abuja on Wednesday. According to Oluwatuyi, the monthly stipend of N20,000 is an initial amount and will be adjusted as necessary to reflect economic changes.

In addition to covering institutional fees, student loan applicants can also apply for maintenance loans. Recently, NELFUND reported disbursing the N20,000 stipend to over 20,000 students.

When questioned about the possibility of adjusting the maintenance allowance due to economic pressures, Oluwatuyi confirmed, “The N20,000 stipend is a starting point, and we will revise it periodically based on economic realities.”

Regarding students who were removed from examination halls due to unpaid fees, Oluwatuyi noted, “We cannot address this issue at the moment because we lack specific details on the exams they were taking. For students who are already in their second semester, the loan will cover fees starting from their next session, but not retroactively.”

Shortly after his inauguration, President Bola Tinubu enacted the Access to Higher Education Act, establishing a legal framework for providing loans to financially disadvantaged Nigerians for tertiary education. This law, which was reenacted earlier this year, led to the creation of NELFUND.