The Student Loan Scheme has proved to be a game-changer by all standards. Aptly described as President Bola Tinubu’s flagship project in the education sector, it has saved many students on the brink of exiting school. Thus, despite the argument from critics that it should be “education grant” and not loan, beneficiaries see it as the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, while students have tagged it: “students’ saviour”, DAMOLA KOLA-DARE and ABDULLATEEF FARUQ (UDUS) report.
For many students, paying their tuition fees and meeting other needs remain a struggle. Little wonder, some resort to what is popularly termed “hustling” in Nigerian parlance, just to hang on.
A classic example is Abdulsalam Adam Aduagba, who was at crossroads on how to pay his school fees. When help was not forthcoming and with his single parent battling to stay afloat of the economic downturn, he had no choice but to apply for the loan. He got it and his fears of dropping out of school were allayed, though accommodation was another challenge.
It is not out of place to describe the Student Loan Scheme under the aegis of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as a heartwarming ray of hope; an initiative that has revolutionised tertiary education in the country, all thanks to President Bola Tinubu whose commitment to unfettered access to education remains unstinting.
Saving many students from exiting school abruptly underlined the position of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), which described the scheme as a veritable platform to curb and reduce dropout rates in universities and other tertiary institutions.
Disbursements so far
In what has largely been a success, NELFUND has disbursed a total of N45.1 billion in student loans across the country since its inception in May 2024 to March 2025.
According to the update on its official X page, a total of 525,936 students have registered on the loan platform, with 445,015 applicants successfully applying for financial assistance. This reflects 84 percent success rate for student loan applications under the scheme.
It noted that despite the significant approval of N147.9 billion in funds, the actual disbursement as of March 25, 2025, stood at N45.1 billion. The report showed that N29.86 billion had been released for institutional fees, while N15.23 billion was disbursed as upkeep allowances.
This underscores the Federal Government’s commitment to supporting students, ensuring that beneficiaries receive financial assistance for their education swiftly.
NELFUND also disclosed that as of late last month, there was a great increase in the number of successful applicants, with a 192 per cent rise in new registrants who succeeded in their applications.
The data stated that an additional 1,313 students registered, while 2,523 new applicants successfully completed their loan applications.
The agency’s managing director, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, stated last month at a sensitisation campaign for students at Edo State University at Iyamoh that the agency was well funded to cater for Nigerian students, as long as they are eligible and studying in any institution in the country.
“So far, we are very well funded. The political will demonstrated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to allow us access funds outside the statutory allocation is well commended.
“The law provides for us to raise funds from non-governmental quarters. I think it’s fair to say many Nigerians are helping students with their school fees. And some of these non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are now injecting their funds into NELFUND for us to be able to deploy accordingly.
“Many people want to give to this country, but they don’t have a vehicle through which to do that. NELFUND has become a channel for giving. I believe if we put the right structures in place, as long as it is honest – and we are honest – and transparent about how to deploy the funds,” he said.
How to make scheme sustainable
The NELFUND MD noted that the law stipulates that the agency will be funded by receiving one percent of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)’s collections. “So, we think that will end up being something like N19 billion or so. This agency should receive about N194 billion,” he said.
He said the law allows the agency to solicit for funds from other sources.
“One is to solicit for funds from other sources. So, it may be those who want to invest in education in Nigeria, not necessarily for a financial return, or those who want to donate either to the Fund across the board or for specific types of applicants.
“We also have the power to invest the funds that we have for return. So, there are many opportunities for us to grow the funds and to try to make it sustainable.
“We already have certain interventions that have been made. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for example, donated N50 billion in proceeds of crime. We also have had a directive to TETFund to provide us with N141 billion, of which they’ve given us N71 billion.
“We’ve had an appropriation of N60 billion, of which we’ve received N10 billion, and we are expecting another N50 billion. And, then, I believe there’s a bill going through the National Assembly at the moment where we’ll be receiving, I think, 20 percent of TETFund’s proceeds. So, there are funding sources.”
Repayment plan
Sawyerr noted that NELFUND will not put pressure on graduates to repay the loans unless they get jobs.
“There’s no obligation on the loanees to repay the loans until two years after they have completed their NYSC. And even after two years, there’s no obligation to repay the loans unless a person has a job.
“Two years after NYSC, there’s a reporting requirement for us to know what the status of the individual is. If they don’t get jobs for the next 10 years, which is not the plan, then they don’t pay the NELFUND any money. Additionally, the obligation to repay is on the employer who is obliged by law to give us a proportion of the funds that they are paying as a salary to the employee.
“Our guidelines have determined that to be 10 percent. So, even after this two-year moratorium, it’s designed to ensure that the employer, who’s really benefiting from the intervention of NELFUND, is the one obliged to take 10 per cent and repay the fund.”
Ray of hope for delighted beneficiaries
Qozeem Sulyman Adekunle, a 400-Level Political Science student, believes the initiative from the Federal Government is providing unexpected support.
“My financial situation was moderate, but the joy in the faces of students when they receive the upkeep is unimaginable,” Adekunle said.
The policy, he admitted, had its flaws, especially the lengthy verification process. However, for those who received the loan, the ability to pay fees on time was a game-changer.
Isiaka Qudus, a student in the Department of Accounting, marvelled at how the upkeep money transformed students’ emotions.
“You will be emotionally and physically happy,” he said, describing the relief that came with financial security.
While some applicants faced challenges, his experience was smooth. He applied on the first day, and though it took months, it was eventually approved.
At the Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State, Imran Sulaiman, a 400-Level Mass Communication student, painted a picture of struggle, one familiar to thousands of students nationwide.
“Life can be difficult for an undergraduate like me who solely relies on my parents,” he said. His father, a retired journalist, had done his best, but the financial demands of university life were unrelenting,” Sulaiman asserted.
For him, the NELFUND initiative was more than just tuition coverage; it was the difference between uncertainty and stability.
“At the end of every session, my mind wasnot at rest whenever I thought of paying my tuition fee, accommodation, and feeding,” he confessed. But now, things have changed.
“The upkeep should last beyond a year. Let students consistently receive it until their graduation,” he suggested, emphasising the need for sustainability.
Abubakar Abdulrasheed, a 500-Level student at Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDUS), Sokoto State, spoke highly of the scheme.
“Having the opportunity to access the loan improves and raises our standards of living,” he acknowledged. He heard about it through the media and saw it as an opportunity to support his education.
“It makes things flexible, easy,” he said, appreciating how it covered study materials, data and foodstuff.
For Usman Shamsudeen Atanda, an undergraduate student of Education Economics, the loan was more than financial assistance, it was a shield against dropping out.
“Many students are surviving through this loan, especially the upkeep. We call it students’ saviour when it enters,” he said.
Despite the success stories, the road was not entirely smooth. Some students had doubts before applying.
“At first, I thought it was a scam. But when I saw many people apply, I didn’t hesitate,” he said.
His doubts, however, were erased once the funds arrived, proving that the initiative was indeed real and full of impact.
Umar Farouk, the student representative on the NELFUND board, believes the initiative was fulfilling a long-awaited promise.
“Children of nobody can now access higher education easily,” he declared, reflecting on President Tinubu’s campaign pledge. “With access to student loans, everyone now has the ease to go to school,” he added.
How Tinubu revolutionised education with scheme
The president has received more plaudits for changing the face of tertiary education with the Student Loan Scheme.
Praising the president, Senior Special Assistant on Students’ Engagement to the President, Sunday Asefon, said: “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has justified his mandate by making education easier for students. There was no president since independence that gave students the opportunity to get interest free loans to attain tertiary education and return it when they start working. “The President had told our parents not to go and get high interest loans to send their children to tertiary school, but to get the NELFUND that is interest-free and pay when the beneficiary starts working.
“It doesn’t require you knowing anyone in a position of authority before you can access it.
“Since we got independence, no President has allotted high budgetary provisions to education the way President Tinubu has done.”
The President had in April last year signed the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2024, into law.
The assent was sequel to the separate considerations by both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the report of the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
The Act empowers the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to provide loans to qualified Nigerian students for tuition fees, charges and upkeep during their studies in approved public tertiary institutions and vocational and skills acquisition establishments in the country.
The revised Student Loan Act 2024 was created to remove financial barriers and make education more accessible to students, regardless of their economic background. The mandate so far has been fulfilled with over 200,000 students receiving the loans across more than 100 tertiary institutions nationwide.
