Nigerian Students Given 2 Years After NYSC to Start Repaying NELFUND Loans

Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, the head of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), recently said that Nigerian students using NELFUND loans don’t have to start paying them back until two years after they finish their National Youth Service Corp (NYSC). He shared this news on a TVC News program.

He explained that the job of paying back the loan is up to the employers of those who find jobs after NYSC. These employers need to take out 10% of the employee’s salary each month and send it to NELFUND. 

This only starts two years after the employee has finished NYSC. Employers can find the employee’s details in a database using their name and National Identification Number (NIN).

People who work for themselves will have to pay back the loan on their own. Sawyerr also pointed out that people who don’t find a job after NYSC don’t have to pay back the loan until they do.

He also mentioned that right now, NELFUND doesn’t give loans to students at private colleges because the rules don’t allow it. But President Bola Tinubu wants to change this in the future so that private college students can also get loans.

As of February 3, 2025, NELFUND had given out N20 billion in loans for school fees, helping about 192,906 students at different colleges. They also gave about N12.8 billion as monthly payments to about 169,114 students, with each student getting N20,000.

NELFUND was officially started on April 3, 2024. Its main goal is to help qualified Nigerians pay for college and living costs at approved schools in Nigeria.