Beneficiaries of the student loan scheme under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, have asked the Federal Government to increase the monthly stipends paid to them from N20,000 to N40,000 monthly.
The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, and beneficiaries who spoke with NDN said increasing the monthly stipends would help them cope with the increased cost of living resulting from the recent petrol pump price hike.
“We appreciate President Bola Tinubu and NELFUND for this initiative, but in the light of current realities in the country, N20,000 monthly stipend can barely get me two cartons of noodles,” one student said.
NELFUND data showed that 341,988 students have registered with the board from 257 institutions, while 250,000 students have applied for loans. Records showed that about 10% of the applications have been approved.
Meanwhile, beneficiaries have started receiving August upkeep allowance after initial delay.
NELFUND attributed the delay in the payment to certain security architectures that were put in place to ensure the verification of students’ data.
The government agency pays tuition fees directly to the beneficiaries’ institution, apparently to avoid misappropriation of the funds, while the upkeep allowances are paid directly to the beneficiaries.
Some 21,000 students in Bayero University, Kano State; Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State; University of Ilorin, Kwara State; University of Benin, Edo State; University of Ibadan, Oyo State; and University of Maiduguri, Borno State, are the first set of beneficiaries.
Some of the students who spoke to our correspondent confirmed receipt of their upkeep allowances.
