The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, has provided clarity on why students enrolled in private universities are currently excluded from the federal government’s student loan programme, stressing that the decision is temporary and driven by practical constraints rather than policy bias.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television, Sawyerr addressed growing public concerns around fairness and access, particularly from families whose children attend private tertiary institutions. According to him, the present scope of the loan scheme reflects funding limitations, high tuition costs in private universities, and gaps in reliable data on students’ financial capacity.
He explained that private universities generally charge significantly higher fees than public institutions, making it more difficult to design a sustainable loan structure within the fund’s current financial resources. In addition, Sawyerr noted that NELFUND does not yet have sufficient data to accurately assess the financial backgrounds of students in private institutions, which complicates the targeting of loans to those who need them most.
“The private sector institutions tend to charge more. We also don’t have accurate information about the financial capacity of people,” he said, adding that these challenges influenced the initial rollout of the scheme.
As a result, NELFUND has adopted what Sawyerr described as a “blunt instrument” approach in the early phase of implementation. Under this model, priority is given to students in public institutions, based on the assumption that those who attend public universities are more likely to come from lower-income backgrounds.
“We are using a little bit of a blunt instrument at the moment to say, look, people who are short of money tend to go to the public sector,” he explained.
However, Sawyerr was quick to emphasise that private university students have not been permanently excluded. He said discussions with Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who championed the student loan initiative, point to a broader long-term vision of universal access.
“The exclusion is a temporal thing in my view,” he said. “Once we’ve been able to cover those who really need it, then we will look at those.”
According to him, the president’s intent is for all Nigerians, regardless of the type of institution they attend, to eventually benefit from the scheme. Achieving this, however, will require additional resources and, potentially, amendments to the existing law establishing the loan fund.
“And I think that will happen when the resources are there. I think that we will have to go back and amend the law so that all can get it. The point is, there is political will to support every Nigerian having access to this loan,” Sawyerr added.
Addressing fears that the scheme could be politicised or manipulated to favour children of politically connected individuals, Sawyerr insisted that the application process is strictly neutral. He explained that the NELFUND portal does not collect information related to political affiliation, ethnicity, or region.
“It is totally agnostic. When you go to that portal, it doesn’t ask you whether you’re a member of a political party. It doesn’t ask you whether you’re a member of a particular tribe,” he said, describing the programme as a national welfare initiative open to all eligible Nigerians.
He further noted that NELFUND has no mechanism for identifying applicants based on political leanings, adding that such data is neither requested nor processed during application reviews.
Providing broader context, Sawyerr said the student loan scheme was designed in response to Nigeria’s demographic realities and persistent funding challenges in the education sector. With more than 70 percent of Nigeria’s estimated 230 million population under the age of 35, demand for tertiary education far outstrips available public funding.
“We are a nation with a very high number of youth,” he said, noting that financial barriers prevent many young Nigerians from attaining higher education. The law establishing NELFUND, he explained, seeks to expand access to tertiary education within a resource-constrained environment while also addressing chronic underfunding in publicly owned institutions.
He added that public universities have suffered years of inadequate funding, making student support interventions such as loans even more critical.
Recent data from NELFUND underscores the scale of demand for the programme. As of December 18, 2025, the fund had received a total of 1,274,144 applications since the launch of its portal on May 24, 2024. Of these, 788,947 students have been approved as beneficiaries. On December 17 alone, 4,144 new applications were submitted, reflecting continued uptake.
In terms of disbursements, NELFUND has provided financial support to 262 institutions nationwide. Institutional fees paid so far amount to N82.35 billion, while upkeep allowances for students total N72.03 billion, bringing cumulative disbursements to N154.37 billion.
While private university students remain outside the current scope, NELFUND insists the framework is evolving. As funding expands and better data systems are developed, the scheme’s coverage is expected to widen, aligning with the long-term goal of making tertiary education accessible to all Nigerians, regardless of where they choose to study.
Emmanuel Bassey is a Financial Expert that has worked in the Banking and Finance Industry for over 15+ years across different banks in Nigeria
