The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has once again extended the deadline for its Student Loan Application Portal for the 2025/2026 academic session, following requests from some institutions for additional time.
The announcement was made on Thursday in a statement issued by the Fund’s Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.
According to the statement, the extension applies only to institutions that formally asked for more time, giving qualified students in those schools extra opportunity to complete their applications.
“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 Fund’s commitment to ensuring that eligible students in participating institutions can benefit from the loan scheme.
“NELFUND remains committed to ensuring that eligible students across participating institutions have the opportunity to access the student loan programme,” he said.
The Fund advised students in the affected institutions to take advantage of the extended deadline by submitting their applications through the official portal.
NELFUND also restated its commitment to transparency, accountability, and providing sustainable financing solutions aimed at removing financial barriers to higher education in Nigeria.
Earlier in the month, the Fund had already extended the portal after experiencing a surge in interest across the country. The application portal was initially scheduled to close on February 27, 2026.
NELFUND disclosed that since the programme began, it has disbursed more than N206bn in loans to students in tertiary institutions nationwide. So far, 1,164,222 students have benefited from N206.29bn under the scheme.
The Fund was created to manage the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme and was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024.
The initiative offers interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions to cover tuition fees and living expenses.
Beneficiaries are expected to repay the loans after completing their studies and securing employment, with the goal of expanding access to higher education for students from low-income families.
