By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Since the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) launched its student loan portal on Friday, May 24, 2024, students from federal tertiary institutions across Nigeria have been struggling to complete their loan applications.
Even though the portal is open, many students are stuck at various stages of the application process.
Damilola, a student at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), has been unable to get past the National Identity Number (NIN) verification stage due to technical problems with the NIMC portal.
Chidinma, a final-year student at UNILAG, is worried about the 30-day loan approval period, fearing it could lead to missed course registrations and exams. The university management has also threatened to close the university portal for students who haven’t paid their fees.
Students from Federal University Lokoja are experiencing difficulties because their institution is not listed on the portal.
Others are having trouble entering their bank codes, while students from institutions like the National Open University, which don’t require JAMB registration, are unable to sign up due to the JAMB registration number requirement.
Raphael Einstein, a student from Federal University Lokoja, said, “We students couldn’t apply for the loan because our school name is not on the portal… Please, we’ll really appreciate it if you can help us resolve that. Thank you!”
Anthony Esther, a student from the National Open University, added, “I can’t sign up for the loan because I don’t have a JAMB registration number. How do I go about it? Thanks.”
The Harbinger reached out to NELFUND on Monday but has not yet received a response, leaving students frustrated and urgently seeking help to resolve these issues.
