NELFUND unveils job portal for student loan beneficiaries, targets one million new applications by 2025
By Uji A Iliyasu, Abuja
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced plans to launch a centralised job portal aimed at providing student loan beneficiaries with early access to employment opportunities both within and outside the country.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, revealed this during a media engagement in Abuja on Thursday to commemorate one year since the launch of the scheme.
Sawyerr explained that although the agency does not guarantee employment, the job portal will aggregate listings from both the public and private sectors, as well as international employers seeking to hire Nigerians.
“We don’t just give a loan and leave students on their own. This job portal is our way of supporting their journey toward economic stability,” he said.
He stressed that loan repayment only begins after beneficiaries gain employment, specifically after completing their mandatory National Youth Service (NYSC).
“If you don’t have a job, you don’t pay. And when you eventually get a job, your repayment starts fresh.
Once employed, 10 per cent of the beneficiary’s monthly income is deducted automatically by the employer and remitted to NELFUND, following verification through the NELFUND employment register.
If an employee is laid off or resigns, the deductions stop. And in the event of death, the loan is written off. The family is not harassed,” he added.
On concerns raised over non-refund of school fees to students who had already paid before NELFUND disbursed to their institutions, Sawyerr called on institutions to return such funds, noting that failure to do so is both unethical and unprofessional.
“We’ve received multiple petitions from students who paid under duress, only to find their fees had also been covered by NELFUND.
Institutions must refund this money. It’s disappointing that some schools have ignored this responsibility,” he said.
He further disclosed that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are investigating certain institutions for refusing or delaying refunds.
“If an institution cannot refund directly to the student, they can pay the money back to us and we will ensure it gets to the rightful student,” he added.
Also speaking at the event, NELFUND’s Executive Director of Operations, Mustapha Iyal, revealed that the agency currently manages over 3.2 million student records and is projecting up to one million new loan applications by the end of 2025.
“What we’re looking at this year—from now to the end of the year—is about one million applications. We’re not pushing. We’re not saying it’s compulsory.
But we’re looking at how we can support one million applications to make sure that no one is dropping out of school due to financial hardship,” Iyal said.
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that no Nigerian student is denied access to higher education due to lack of funds.