The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has officially launched the application portal for the 2025/2026 academic session, providing a second cycle of interest-free loans for students in public tertiary institutions.
The application window for the new academic session opened in the second week of October 2025 and is scheduled to remain accessible to fresh applicants until January 2026.
The launch follows the closure of the 2024/2025 application portal on September 30, 2025. Akintunde Sawyerr, the Managing Director of NELFUND, explained that the transition was essential for administrative finalization.
”The closure marks the conclusion of the second full cycle of the scheme and will allow it to finalize the processing of pending applications and upkeep payments,” Sawyerr stated at a recent media conference.
The scheme remains crucial for the government’s mandate to support equitable access to higher education across Nigeria by covering the cost of institutional charges and providing monthly upkeep stipends to beneficiaries.
Institutional Compliance Warning
NELFUND has simultaneously issued a stern directive to tertiary institutions that have yet to verify the records of their students.
The Fund warned that all applications for the 2024/2025 session that remain unverified by institutions after October 8, 2025, will be automatically cancelled. Students affected by institutional delays will be required to submit fresh applications for the 2025/2026 cycle.
The Managing Director urged institutional heads to act promptly to avoid penalizing students, saying, “NELFUND remains committed to removing financial barriers for students and to working with institutions to ensure that no eligible student is left behind.”
The Fund further disclosed that it would publicly list institutions found to be non-compliant with the October 8 verification deadline to promote transparency.
Under the terms of the loan, repayment begins two years after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program, with beneficiaries expected to notify NELFUND every three months if they remain unemployed.
