By FUNMILAYO ADEYEMI

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says that upkeep loan disbursement is now strictly tied to the academic session of each institution.

NELFUND disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday by its Director of Strategic Communications, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.

“In line with this directive, students shall only be entitled to upkeep loans for their current academic session.

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

According to Oluwatuyi, students who transition into a new academic year would no longer receive upkeep disbursements for the preceding session.

She further said interested loan applicants were required to apply for the loan at the beginning of every academic session to be eligible for both institutional charges and upkeep for that particular session.

“To ensure accuracy and transparency, the NELFUND loan portal is being automated to reflect this adjustment.

“The portal will henceforth display only the upkeep loans that have been collected by each student within the relevant session,” she added.

She advised institutions to upload their academic calendars and sessional information in a timely manner to guarantee that their students received the full upkeep benefits due to them for an entire academic year.

“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.

“For further inquiries or assistance, please contact us via email at info@nelf.gov.ng or reach out through our official social media platforms, and X (formerly Twitter).”

Other contacts include, “@nelfund, Instagram: @nelfund and Facebook & LinkedIn: Nigerian Education Loan Fund.” (NAN)