By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Since the launch of the student loan portal by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) on Friday May 24, 2024, students from various federal tertiary institutions across Nigeria have been experiencing difficulties completing their loan applications. Despite the portal being open for applications, many students have been stuck at different stages of the registration process.
Some students, like Damilola from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), have been unable to move past the National Identity Number (NIN) verification stage due to technical issues with the NIMC portal.
Chidinma, a final-year student at UNILAG, is concerned about the 30-day approval period for the loan, which may cause them to miss course registration and exams. The school management has also vowed to close the university portal to students who haven’t paid their school fees.
Students from Federal University Lokoja are facing issues as their institution is not listed on the portal. Others are struggling with inputting their bank codes, while those from institutions that don’t require JAMB registration, like the National Open University, are unable to sign up due to the JAMB registration number requirement.
Raphael Einstein, a student from Federal University Lokoja, wrote, “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, wrote, “I can’t sign up for the loan because I don’t have a JAMB registration number. How do I go about it? Thanks.”
Sparklightnews sent a mail to NELFUND on Monday but no response has been received, leaving students frustrated and seeking assistance to resolve these issues.