The Federal Government has announced fresh changes to the operations of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), introducing new directives that will tie the disbursement of upkeep loans to the academic session of each institution.

The changes were communicated via a statement issued on Tuesday by Mrs. Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, Director of Strategic Communications at NELFUND.

According to the agency, students will henceforth be eligible for upkeep loans only within their current academic session. Payments will automatically cease once an institution’s academic year comes to an end.

“Upon the conclusion of an institution’s academic year, upkeep payments for that session shall automatically cease,” the agency said.

The new rules will mean that students transitioning into a new academic year will no longer receive disbursements linked to the previous session. Instead, they will be required to renew their applications at the beginning of every academic session to qualify for both institutional charges and upkeep loans for that year.

To improve transparency, NELFUND also announced that its loan management portal has been upgraded and automated to reflect the changes. The platform, the agency said will now display only the upkeep loans collected by each student within the relevant session, ensuring accuracy in disbursement.

The agency further directed higher institutions across the country to support the process by uploading their academic calendars and sessional information on time. Failure to do so, it warned, could affect the ability of students to access their full entitlements. It stressed that the reforms were designed to strengthen accountability while ensuring access to education for all Nigerians.

“NELFUND remains committed to its mandate of providing accessible, transparent, and efficient loan support to Nigerian students, and counts on the cooperation of all stakeholders in the smooth implementation of this directive,” the statement added.

NELFUND was established by the Federal Government in 2023 to provide interest-free loans to students of public tertiary institutions across the country. It is one of the major policies under President Bola Tinubu’s education reform agenda.