The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has granted another extension for its Student Loan Application Portal to accommodate institutions that requested additional time for the 2025/2026 academic session.
The announcement was made on Thursday in a statement signed by NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.
According to the statement, the extension applies only to institutions that submitted formal requests, allowing eligible students extra time to complete their applications.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has approved an extension of its Student Loan Application Portal for institutions that have formally requested additional time for the 2025/2026 academic session,” the statement read.
Speaking on the development, NELFUND Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Akintunde Sawyerr, reiterated the Fund’s commitment to ensuring that eligible students at participating institutions can access the student loan programme.
“NELFUND remains committed to ensuring that eligible students across participating institutions have the opportunity to access the student loan programme,” he said.
The Fund is urging students in affected institutions to take advantage of the extension and submit their applications through the official portal.
NELFUND also emphasised its dedication to transparency, accountability, and providing sustainable financing solutions to remove financial barriers to higher education in Nigeria.
Earlier this month, the Fund had already extended the portal following a surge in nationwide interest. The portal was originally closed on February 27, 2026.
NELFUND reported that it has disbursed over N206bn in loans to support students in tertiary institutions across the country since the programme’s inception. A total of 1,164,222 students have benefited from N206.29bn in loans so far.
Established to administer the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme, NELFUND was enacted into law by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024.
The initiative provides interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions to cover tuition and living expenses.
Beneficiaries are required to repay the loans after completing their education and securing employment, aiming to increase access to higher education for students from low-income backgrounds.
