By Stellamaris
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it has paid out N375.28 billion to students since its loan portal went live in May 2024.
The figure comes from the fund’s Student Loan Disbursement Status Report, which it published on its official X account on Monday. The numbers show how far the programme has grown since applications opened, as payouts keep rising with the number of students seeking support.
The report, dated Monday, November 9, 2026, shows N194.77 billion was paid as institutional fees to 320 beneficiary institutions. Another N180.51 billion went straight to students as upkeep allowances. Together, these make up the N375.28 billion paid so far. The report adds that the payouts cover 1,675,474 student loans in total.
The N375.28 billion is N19.41 billion, or roughly 5.5 per cent, higher than the N355.87 billion the fund reported in September 2026. On applications, NELFUND said it had received 2,413,879 in total as of November 9, 2026. It received 2,296 new applications on November 8, which pushed the total since the 2024 launch past 2.4 million.
The scheme started on May 24, 2024, to support Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions. It pays institutional fees directly to the beneficiary institutions and sends upkeep allowances to eligible students to help with living costs.
How The Programme has Progressed
Since it began, the scheme has grown in the number of applications and in the money released to students and institutions. But rolling it out has also exposed payment delays and other operational problems.
In March 2026, NELFUND said it had paid N206.29 billion to 1,164,222 beneficiaries, with 1,734,985 applications received. By August 19, 2026, total payouts had climbed to N322.69 billion. Of this, N192.89 billion went to 319 tertiary institutions and N129.80 billion was released as upkeep allowances.
Even as funding grew, the scheme struggled to get payments to students. In January 2026, NELFUND found N927.98 million in upkeep allowances still owed to 11,685 students, which it blamed on failed transactions, network downtime and unvalidated bank details.
In July 2026, some beneficiaries also complained about delays in getting their upkeep allowances, raising fresh concerns about how promptly support reaches students. The fund has also looked at changing how tuition is paid. In July, it announced plans for a digital token-based payment system to replace direct payments to tertiary institutions.
The goal is to give students more control over their tuition payments and stop double payments. By September 3, 2026, total payouts had reached N355.87 billion, with 1,659,853 applications processed. Of that, N192.89 billion had gone to 319 beneficiary institutions and N162.98 billion had been released as upkeep allowances.
