Step-by-Step Guide to Applying for a NELFUND Student Loan Successfully (2025 Complete Process)

Gone are the days when the government during military regimes would declare free education for Nigerians. As the population of the country has overgrown (over 200 million in the past census) and access to higher education becomes more stiffer year by year, the federal government in her efforts to still make higher education accessible has established the NELFUND student loan (Nigerian Education Loan Fund).

Following the establishment of the NELFUND student loan scheme, the government hopes to see a reduction in the number of uneducated citizens.

Introduction

During his campaign to be elected as the president of Nigeria back in 2023, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Asiwaju Tinubu promised to make higher education accessible to as many as would want to further their education.

He did say he would achieve that by establishing a student loan for Nigerian students of all levels. Students who want to borrow money for tuition and upkeep can do so effortlessly and payback after he or she may have graduated and have gotten a Job.

The president fulfilled his promise and on 19th June 2023 according to the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC), he signed a bill to establish the student loan scheme.

What is NELFUND?

NELFUND student loan which is the short form of Nigerian Education Loan Fund is a student loan established by the Federal Government of Nigeria. The loan aimed to provide interest-free loans (tuition and upkeep) to students of eligible higher institutions (universities, polytechnics and colleges of education).

The loan is for all Nigerian students in Universities and Polytechnics of all levels except those who have graduated and again not all universities are eligible.

The only eligible institutions are the public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education (both federal and state owned).

The primary goal for the NELFUND student loan is solely to make access to higher education accessible to all Nigerian students irrespective of their financial background.

The loan covers only two areas which are:

• Tuition which also includes departmental registrations, course registration, exam fees, acceptance fees and so on.
• It also covers upkeep allowance which also includes feeding, transportation, books, lecture notes, and accommodations.

NELFUND Repayment

This loan is completely different from those offered by our traditional commercial banks and other financial institutions.

The loan has no interest and the surprising thing is that, the repayment can only start when the student has graduated and have gotten a job.

Who Is eligible for a NELFUND student loan?

Not everybody is entitled to access this loan even if you are a student. The loan is only meant for a few categories of students:

1. Must be a Nigerian student: the loan is established strictly for students who are origins of Nigeria. In other words, even if you are a foreign schooler in Nigeria, you will not be eligible to apply for the loan. Check the screenshot below 👇

   

2. Must be a student in the eligible institutions: not all the higher institutions in Nigeria are eligible to participate in the NELFUND student loan. The only named institutions are the federal or state owned universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. So even if you are a citizen of Nigeria, you must be a student in any of the listed institutions to be eligible.
3. Must have National Identity Number (NIN): since the loan is strictly for the Nigerian students, you must have the NIN to be eligible for the application. It is a prerequisite criteria for the loan application.
4. Must have admission letter and JAMB number: the loan is not for everyone, it is specifically for students, so to be eligible for the application you must have been written Joint Admission and Matriculation Examination and also admitted into any of the federal or state owned universities, polytechnics or colleges of education. Therefore, admission letter is one way to confirm that you are a student of the said institution.
5. Must not have a past record of loan default: those who have collected federal government loans in the past and defaulted may not be eligible for the NELFUND student loan.

Documents you need before applying

In getting ready for the NELFUND student loan application process, first of all make sure you have all the required documents ready before you start the application process.

The following are the documents required for the loan application:

• Jamb Number
• Student ID card
• Student’s registration number
• Admission letter
• NIN slip
• Email address
• Bank details (for upkeep)

Once all of these are ready then you are sure to start the application process right away.

Avoid common errors:

To ensure that all your information are correct and to increase the chances of your application being approved, you have to ensure that;

• The names as written on your NIN are exactly as those written on your JAMB slip and also on your school records
• Your date of birth (both the day, month, and year) are also correctly written.
• You do not use another person’s phone number and email. You can easily create an email for yourself. Also ensure that your phone number is written correctly.

You have to be aware that when your details are mismatched, your application may be rejected or in the case of phone number and email, you may not be able to track your application again.

So ensure that everything is written or selected correctly.

If your school is not yet onboarded

If the school you are attending is not eligible for the NELFUND student loan or is not yet onboarded for the loan program, you have to patiently wait until your institution is onboarded.

However, you have to be aware that if you are not attending a federal or state owned higher institution, you may not be able to access the loan.

Understanding the loan types

The student loan has only two types, which are the institutional charges loan and the upkeep loan. Here are their differences;

Step-by-step guide to applying for a NELFUND student loan

Now that you have provided all the required documents, it is now time to proceed to the application process. To get started, follow these steps;

• Visit the NELFUND website: to kick-start the application process, visit the official NELFUND website nelf.gov.ng and click on the “Get Started” button.

• Get your documents ready: I presume you have all the documents mentioned above ready now. If you do, then proceed to the next step.
• Fill in all your bio details: you need to provide your personal information. This is an essential step to show your identity and proof that it’s actually you.
• Confirm your citizenship: as I said before, the loan is not for foreigners, so you need to confirm nationality during the application.
• Select your institution: next, click on the list of all the eligible institutions. There is a list containing all the eligible universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the nation. Click on it to apply.

• Input your matric number: matric number refers to the registration number which the institution assigned to you when you got admitted into the institution.

• Verify JAMB number: in order to verify your JAMB number, you must input it in the space provided and also enter your date of birth accordingly too.
• Create an account: once you have cross-checked your details, the next thing is click on “Create a student loan account”. You will be prompted to provide your email and unique password.
• Confirm your email: after creating your account, an email verification link will be sent to your email automatically. Open your email and click on the link to confirm your email address.
• Login to your account: after confirming your email, login to your new account and continue to complete your profile by entering your residential address.
• Enter bank details: this is for those who want to apply for the upkeep allowance, you need to provide your Bank Verification Number (BVN), account number, account name and Bank name.
• Preview your answers: cross-check all the information you have provided, to be sure you did not make any mistakes.
• Apply for the loan: click on the “apply for student loan” to submit your application after you reviewed it. You have to choose now either as upkeep allowance loan or just the institutional charges loan.

There is a written notice at this last page of the application process that says;

“it’s important to note that the upkeep loan is contingent upon the student taking the institutional charges loan, without the institutional fees, the upkeep loan cannot be given”.

Uploading documents

Once the requirements listed above are met and the application is followed up to the point of submission, after the you might have clicked on the “apply for student loan”, it then prompts you to upload your documents such as “admission letter”.

After uploading your documents, you have to agree to the “terms and conditions” then, submit your application at this point.

Tracking your application

After submitting your application, you can track your application by simply clicking on “proceed to student loan” button.

That’s all, you have just activated the application tracking process, and here you will monitor your application to know the stages of the review.

What happens after submission?

After submitting your loan application successfully, the review process is done by both your institution and the NELFUND itself.

While NELFUND takes care of the final approval, your institution is responsible for confirming all the information you submitted.

You institution must confirm that you are a current student in the institution. They may also confirm your current level of study and also your department as well.

After the confirmation from your institution, NELFUND then makes the final loan decision. The decision maybe largely dependent on what your institution confirmed about you.

NELFUND approval process

As I said earlier, the final approval of the student loan is done by the NELFUND itself, and the decision is decided after your school confirmed your information.

NELFUND normally does the following during the approval process;

• Cross-checks your documents
• Confirms your identity
• Validates your bank details
• Approves your institutional fee
• Calculates your upkeep allowance

You may receive notifications requesting:

• Re-upload of documents if the documents weren’t clear enough
• Correction of mismatched details

You have to respond swiftly in the event that they request to re-upload your documents or make corrections on your mismatched details. Although, these are very rare.

Disbursement of Loan

After the approval from NELFUND, the next thing is that you will receive a congratulatory message sent to your phone and email informing you that your loan is approved.

The money is then disbursed as follows;

• The institutional charges loan is disbursed directly to your school and not to you.
• The upkeep allowance loan is then disbursed to your bank account.

Common problems students face and how to solve them

Right during the application process and even after submission of it, students often face some challenges trying to track their application.

The following are the key challenges faced by students and how they can be resolved;

• Portal not loading: if you encounter this kind of problem, I suggest you quickly switch your network. For example, if you’re using MTN then switch to GLO or Airtel. You may also change the browser, for example if you’re using chrome then change to Firefox or Edge.
• Verification delays: if this happens, I suggest you visit the student affairs department or the school ICT and let them know that you are tracking your loan application and this is where it’s hanging. You may alternatively write to the NELFUND through email and the contact information displayed on their website in the “contact us” section.
• Application rejection: in the event that your application is rejected, reapplying may not be possible, so always try your possible best to do things right at the first attempt.

Tips to increase your chances of getting approval

In order to increase your chances of getting the loan approval, make sure;

1. You applied early.
2. Your names are written and arranged the same everywhere.
3. You do not use an agent, the application is simple so do it yourself.
4. Before uploading your documents, make sure the documents are clearly scanned and not blurry.
5. Use your personal phone number and email.

Conclusion

The NELFUND loan is for higher education students who cannot afford the cost associated with higher institutions. That is why it is not available for students in the private schools.

In Nigeria, private universities are very costly, and so it is believed that those attending them are children of wealthy people, and that is why students in private institutions are not eligible for it.

Apply and diligently follow all the instructions and make sure you also do your own research and maybe you could just be lucky.

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