The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed N116 billion to cover institutional fees and upkeep allowances for students across the country.

The managing director of the Fund, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Abuja.

Mr Sawyerr described this move as a milestone in the federal government’s commitment to affordable and inclusive tertiary education.

According to him, N65 billion has been paid directly to 239 government-owned institutions. including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, on behalf of students whose loan applications were approved.

He said an additional N51 billion was also disbursed as monthly upkeep allowances, directly to the beneficiaries.

Providing updates on the progress of the scheme, the NELFUND boss stated that the Fund has received a total of 1,067,000 loan applications, out of which 624,000 students have benefited so far.

“We have 1,067,000 loan applications.

“We have been able to pay fees and upkeep for 624,000 students in 239 institutions – government-owned universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.

“The 239 institutions in these categories have been paid by us. We have disbursed so far, N65 billion in institutional fees.

“We have paid out N51 billion as monthly upkeep. It is a lot of money and a lot of people have received the upkeep.

“In total, we have disbursed N116 billion of Nigeria’s government money,” he said.

He added that NELFUND had continued to record high engagement of students’ applications daily.

According to Mr Sawyerr, the education loan scheme is one of the flagship social investment initiatives of the President Bola Tinubu administration.

He said it is designed to remove financial barriers for students in tertiary institutions, ensuring that no Nigerian is denied education due to lack of funds.

With the growing number of applicants and the volume of funds disbursed, the NELFUND boss reaffirmed commitment to transparency and efficiency in managing the scheme.

(NAN)