By Gabriella Ogbu
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced that on Monday, June 24, 2024, it will release the list of educational institutions that have submitted all their student data to the Student Verification System (SVS) portal. This initiative marks a significant step towards ensuring transparency and equitable access to the student loan program.
Nasir Ayitogo, the NELFUND spokesman, clarified in a recent statement that the list will include both federal and state institutions. “While state-owned institutions are still in the process of uploading their data to NELFUND SVS, it is commendable that many federal institutions have already finished the exercise, having been part of the first wave,” Ayitogo stated.
Ayitogo emphasized that this step is crucial for ensuring that all applicants have fair access to the program. He explained that applicants’ information must be included in the data set submitted by their institutions to facilitate automatic and seamless application verification. “Applicants would be disadvantaged and the application process would be deemed illegitimate if this verification was not completed. Therefore, it is crucial that the data supplied by the postsecondary schools be precise and comprehensive,” he said.
In a significant development, President Bola Tinubu has granted N35 billion to kickstart the student loan program. NELFUND’s managing director, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed that these funds will be disbursed according to each institution’s academic calendar and schedule. “The cash would be distributed in accordance with each institution’s academic session,” Sawyerr stated.
Sawyerr also mentioned that due to the lack of a standard academic calendar among universities, the SVS portal, which was launched on May 24, will remain open indefinitely. So far, seventy thousand applications have been approved by the agency, with fifty thousand more pending review and expected to be processed within 30 days.
The agency reported that over 90% of federal institutions have submitted their student data to the fund. Starting June 25, 2024, NELFUND will begin accepting applications from students enrolled in state-owned higher institutions. The loan, equivalent to the tuition expenses, will be directly transferred to the educational institutions of the participating students. Additionally, monthly stipends will be provided directly to recipients to cover other necessities during their education.
The student loan program is anticipated to benefit no fewer than 1.2 million students. Interested applicants are required to provide their National Identification Number (NIN), Bank Verification Number (BVN), and a Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) letter.
