By Femi Oreoluwa
Nigeria’s education system has, for decades, wrestled with a painful paradox. It is a nation blessed with a young, energetic population, yet millions of its young people are unable to advance beyond secondary school.
An estimated 88 per cent of eligible secondary school completers do not proceed to higher education in universities or other tertiary institutions. In practical terms, for every 100 students who finish secondary school in Nigeria, about 88 will likely not continue to university. For many of them, the barrier is not ability, ambition, or even access to admission. It is finance.
Across the country, the story repeats itself in countless households. A student secures admission after years of hard work, only to discover that the family cannot afford the tuition. In other cases, parents who are already stretched by rising living costs must make a painful choice: should their child continue their education, or begin working to support the family’s survival? Dreams are deferred. Potential is stifled. Futures are forcefully reshaped by sad economic realities.
Even for those who make it into university, the struggle often continues. On average, about 20 per cent of Nigerian students drop out before completing their studies, and roughly half of those withdrawals are due to financial difficulties. These are young Nigerians who began their academic journey with hope and promise, only to see it interrupted by economic hardship.
This should not be seen from the lens of a mere tragedy to affected families—it is a tragedy on the national scale. Nigeria’s aspiration to build a technologically advanced and economically viable nation depends on a workforce equipped with the right skills, knowledge, and training. A country rich in human and natural resources cannot afford to have its brightest minds sidelined because of school fees.
It was against this backdrop that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during the 2022 and 2023 campaign season, as Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress made a clear commitment: the era in which indigent Nigerians are denied education because of school fees would come to an end. Within the first few months of assuming office, that commitment began to take institutional shape with the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, widely known as NELFUND.
NELFUND is designed as an interest-free education loan scheme to support students in public tertiary institutions across Nigeria. It covers full tuition and institutional fees, which are paid directly to the institutions, while also providing a monthly upkeep allowance of N20,000 paid to students. Applications are processed through an online portal, creating a transparent and accessible system for students across the country.
The funding framework behind NELFUND reflects an effort to ensure sustainability and accountability. The scheme draws from one per cent of collections by the Nigerian Revenue Service, contributions from TETFund amounting to over N71 billion so far, and recovered proceeds of crime, which have contributed more than N50 billion so far.
Since its commencement, the scale of intervention has been significant. Over N180 billion has been disbursed nationwide. Of this amount, N107.09 billion has been paid directly to 265 tertiary institutions to cover tuition and institutional fees, ensuring that students remain enrolled without the threat of expulsion over unpaid charges. Another N76.80 billion has been paid directly to students as monthly upkeep allowances, helping them manage living expenses while they focus on their studies. In total, 1,560,460 loan applications have been received from across the country, and close to one million Nigerian students have already received direct financial support to stay in school.
What distinguishes NELFUND is not only the scale of its funding but the humane structure of its repayment terms. The loans carry zero interest and require no collateral. Repayment does not begin immediately after graduation; instead, it starts two years after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps, and is structured through employer deductions. This built-in grace period gives graduates time to secure stable employment and establish themselves before any repayment obligation begins.
For many families, this has changed the equation entirely. When tuition is covered and students receive a modest but steady monthly allowance, the financial pressure on households is reduced. Parents can direct their limited income towards other essential needs, while students are freed from the constant anxiety of unpaid fees. The likelihood of dropping out decreases, and the probability of completing a degree increases.
Beyond the immediate financial relief lies a broader national impact. Each student who remains in school represents retained human capital. Each graduate who completes their education strengthens Nigeria’s capacity in fields such as technology, healthcare, engineering, agriculture, education, and entrepreneurship. Over time, the cumulative effect of keeping hundreds of thousands of students in schools can reshape the country’s economic and social trajectory.
In Nigeria today, NELFUND is addressing a long-standing barrier to young men and women achieving their deferred dreams and life ambitions of quality and accessible education. It recognises that education should not be determined by the size of a parent’s income but by a student’s ability and determination.
For decades, school fees have closed the doors on millions of capable young Nigerians. Today, through NELFUND, those doors are being reopened. As a matter of good principle, education should not stop because of money. NELFUND is ensuring that it no longer does.
– Femi Oreoluwa, is a journalist and writes from Lagos.
