The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced plans to discontinue the disbursement of upkeep loans during school holidays.
Beneficiaries of the student loan scheme, who currently receive a monthly ₦20,000 disbursement in addition to loans paid directly to institutions, will now only receive upkeep loans during active academic sessions.
“In line with this directive, students shall only be entitled to upkeep loans for their current academic session. Upon the conclusion of an institution’s academic year, upkeep payments for that session shall automatically cease. Consequently, students who transition into a new academic year will no longer receive upkeep disbursements for the preceding session,” said NELFUND’s Director of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, in a statement on Thursday.
NELFUND also advised prospective loan applicants to apply at the start of each academic session to remain eligible for both institutional charges and upkeep loans for that period.
“To ensure accuracy and transparency, the NELFUND loan portal is being automated to reflect this adjustment. The portal will henceforth display only the upkeep loans that have been collected by each student within the relevant session. Institutions are therefore strongly advised to upload their academic calendars and sessional information in a timely manner to guarantee that their students receive the full upkeep benefits due to them for an entire academic year,” Oluwatuyi added.
As of August 21, 2025, NELFUND has disbursed a total of ₦86 billion to 449,039 student beneficiaries nationwide.
