The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyerr, has disclosed that research indicates the student loan scheme reduced the tertiary education dropout rate in Nigeria by 20 percent in 2025.
Sawyerr made the disclosure on Sunday during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he explained that evidence from research conducted on NELFUND’s impact shows that the scheme is helping students remain in tertiary institutions and complete their education.
“There is some other evidence from the research that has been done that shows that we reduced by 20% the dropout rate last year. There is clear evidence that this is working,” Sawyerr said.
However, Sawyerr did not identify the organisation that produced the 20 percent figure or provide details of the methodology used in arriving at the finding.
He also referenced a recent study by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, which, according to him, found that 84 percent of NELFUND beneficiaries were able to continue their tertiary education because of the loan scheme.
The NELFUND chief executive also addressed concerns surrounding the management and disbursement of funds, stressing that the organisation operates both internal and external audit systems.
According to him, every payment made by NELFUND is subject to auditing, while the organisation does not disburse physical cash to beneficiaries.
“Every single penny, every single kobo that leaves NELFUND is audited. But on top of that, it is important for me to point out to you that we never disburse cash, ever,” he said.
Sawyerr explained that monthly upkeep payments, including the ₦20,000 paid to students, are transferred directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts, with NELFUND using their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) as part of its monitoring and verification process.
He also spoke about complaints concerning delays in refunding students who had already paid institutional fees before receiving NELFUND support.
According to him, the problem was partly caused by the timing of the scheme’s introduction, as NELFUND was launched midway through academic sessions when some institutions had already required students to pay their fees.
While some institutions promptly refunded eligible students, others failed to do so within the expected period.
Sawyerr said NELFUND had consequently engaged security and investigative agencies in some cases to help resolve outstanding refund issues.
Established in 2024, NELFUND provides interest-free loans to eligible students in Nigerian tertiary institutions as part of efforts to expand access to higher education and reduce financial barriers facing students.
The fund announced on September 3, 2026, that it had disbursed more than ₦355 billion in student loans to 1,659,853 beneficiaries out of 1,800,489 applications.
The latest figures, alongside the reported reduction in dropout rates, underscore the growing scale of NELFUND’s intervention in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
