Akintunde Sawyerr, the managing director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), says over 110,000 applications have been received for the student loan scheme.
Sawyerr was at the ceremonial launch of the student loan application portal at the statehouse council chambers in Abuja.
He said 160,000 students had registered for the scheme while over 110,000 had applied for the loan.
President Bola Tinubu enacted an initial version of the student loan policy in June 2023 to grant interest-free loans to students.
The scheme was to commence in October 2023 but implementation was repeatedly deferred until a re-enactment in April 2024.
NELFUND opened the loan application portal on May 24, at which time a pilot phase to serve federal tertiary institutions began.
The fund said the scheme would be open to state-owned tertiary institutions in its second rollout.
On July 17, a ceremonial launch of the student loan scheme was held at the statehouse in Abuja.
At the launch, Sawyerr noted a growing awareness of the scheme across the country despite initial scepticism.
Sawyerr said the fund has witnessed a surge in applications from students in the northern region of the country.
He said this is in contrast to the scepticism being recorded in the south.
The NELFund boss said some students in southern Nigeria are still questioning the legitimacy of the programme.
“I can say to you that institutions in the north of the country have been very proactive in supporting and helping their students and in providing their data to us,” he said.
“I think we’ll see the scepticism that you can find mainly in the southern part begin to disappear when we start paying out.”
At the event, Tinubu said Nigeria will invest in education beyond the loan scheme as a tool against terrorism, banditry, and insecurity.
Among those who attended were the senate president Godswill Akpabio, the speaker of the house of representatives Tajudeen Abbas, the chairman NELFUND board Jim Ovia, the finance minister Wale Edun, and the education minister Tahir Mamman.
Others were the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Isiaq Oloyede and the acting executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Chris Mayaiki.
The NELFund loan scheme funds students for both their tuition and upkeep allowance.
The loans are to be disbursed directly to the institutions while the stipends are paid directly to the students.
NELFund said the repayment process for the loans begins two years after a recipient completes youth service.
The fund said 10 percent of an applicant’s earnings would be deducted until the loan is fully paid.
Extensions and loan forgiveness, it said, are available under conditions like unemployment or permanent disability.