By Charles Olewezi
Parents and students across the country have welcomed the opening of the 2026/2027 Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) application, describing it as a major relief against rising tuition and economic hardship.
The portal, which opened on September 23, and will close on December 31, 2026, is accessible via https://nelf.gov.ng.
While the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has urged early application, beneficiaries across states say the scheme is already keeping indigent students in school.
In the South West, a 400-level student of the University of Ibadan said the loan saved his academic career last session when his parents, both traders at Bodija market, could not raise his fees. “NELFUND paid my tuition directly. I didn’t have to defer again,” he said.
In Niger State, a parent, Mr Sani Abdullahi, whose two sons are studying at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, said the fund has ended the cycle of borrowing every semester. “For us in the North, where many parents are peasant farmers, this loan is dignity. Government should sustain it,” he said.
A mother of two undergraduates in Bayero University, Kano State said that only one of her children would be in school presently without NELFUND. While a final-year student of the University of Maiduguri in the North East, who was displaced by insurgency, said the upkeep allowance helped him buy books and food after his family lost their means of livelihood.
The story is not different in the South South where a student leader at the University of Port Harcourt noted that many students from the riverine communities, who previously relied on fishing to fund school, now have hope of completing their studies without interruption.
Stakeholders, however, advised applicants to ensure their JAMB and institutional details are correctly updated, and to apply only through the official portal to avoid fraud.