The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced plans to update its system and students’ database to identify dropouts who are still receiving stipends.
The Executive Director of Operations at NELFUND, Mr. Mustapha Iyal, disclosed this during a news conference in Abuja on Monday. According to him, the update aims to ensure only eligible students continue receiving financial support.
“What we’re aiming to do right now is to update our system. And part of the update that we’re doing presently is updating the students’ database.
“This is because, without the update, you don’t know who is out of school. So, what we’re doing right now is that we’re dealing with institutions,’’ he said.
Ensuring accurate data collection
Iyal noted that the fund has extensive data from relevant institutions, and more applicants continue to emerge. He stated that the upcoming 2024-2025 application cycle would provide an opportunity to further refine its records.
He further explained that some applicants might not receive the next upkeep stipend if they only attended the 2023-2024 academic session but failed to transition into the 2024-2025 session.
“A lot of applicants may not get the next upkeep because they only attend the 2023-2024 session but they were unable to move into 2024-2025,” Iyal said.
What you should know
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is a government initiative designed to provide financial support to students in tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
- Its primary goal is to ensure that students have access to the necessary funds for their education, reducing financial barriers and improving higher education accessibility.
- NELFUND typically disburses stipends to eligible students to cover tuition, upkeep, and other academic-related expenses.
- The fund has disbursed a total of N20,074,050,000 for institutional fees, benefiting no fewer than 192,906 students across various tertiary institutions in the country as of February 3, 2025.
- The issue NELFUND faces with funding dropouts stems from its eligibility criteria the fund is intended strictly for active students who remain enrolled in their academic programs.
- When students drop out or fail to transition into a new academic session, they no longer meet the requirements for financial aid.
However, due to database limitations and system inefficiencies, some students who have already left school may continue receiving stipends. To address this, NELFUND is updating its system to verify student enrollment status in real-time, working closely with institutions to prevent funding ineligible recipients.
The upcoming 2024-2025 application cycle is expected to be a key opportunity for refining these records.
