By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has again extended the deadline for its student loan application portal for the 2025/2026 academic session to allow more institutions and eligible students complete the process.
The extension was announced on Thursday, 12 March, 2026 in a statement signed by the Director of Strategic Communications at NELFUND, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi,who explained that the decision followed formal requests from some institutions seeking additional time to enable their students apply for the loan scheme.
According to the statement, the new extension applies strictly to institutions that officially requested more time, with the aim of ensuring that qualified students are not left out of the programme.
“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, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to expanding access to the scheme for students in participating institutions.
“NELFUND remains committed to ensuring that eligible students across participating institutions have the opportunity to access the student loan programme,” he said.
Consequently, the Fund urged students in the affected institutions to take advantage of the extension by completing their applications through the official portal within the new deadline.
NELFUND further stressed that the programme is anchored on transparency, accountability and sustainability, noting that the initiative is designed to remove financial barriers that prevent many Nigerians from pursuing higher education.
Earlier in the month, the Fund had also extended the application portal after recording a surge in nationwide interest from students and institutions.
The portal was originally scheduled to close on February 27, 2026, before the latest adjustment.
Providing an update on the scheme, NELFUND disclosed that it has so far disbursed more than ₦206 billion in loans to students in tertiary institutions across the country.
According to the Fund, a total of 1,164,222 students have benefited from ₦206.29 billion released since the programme commenced.
NELFUND was established to administer the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme, which was signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in April 2024 as part of efforts to widen access to tertiary education.
Under the scheme, students in public tertiary institutions are eligible to receive interest-free loans to cover tuition fees and living expenses, with repayment to begin after graduation and upon securing employment.
The Fund noted that the initiative is targeted at students from low-income backgrounds, with the objective of ensuring that lack of funds does not prevent qualified Nigerians from attaining higher education.
