…Says disbursement now tied to institutional verification on upgraded student loan portal
By Sodiq Adelakun
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has issued a formal directive to all tertiary institutions nationwide to immediately verify and upload their students’ data on the recently upgraded Student Loan Application System (SLAS), as a prerequisite for loan disbursement.
This directive was conveyed in a statement released on Wednesday in Abuja by the Director of Strategic Communications at NELFUND, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi.
Oluwatuyi confirmed that SLAS has now been fully digitised to enhance the efficiency, speed, and transparency of the student loan application and disbursement process for both institutions and applicants.
According to the statement, all accredited tertiary institutions are now required to formally request access to the SLAS platform by emailing: registration@nelf.gov.ng. Institutions that have not yet onboarded the system were advised to do so without delay.
“This is a critical step to ensure that student loan applications are processed and disbursed promptly,” she stated.
She explained that, once granted access, institutions will be able to monitor student applications, authenticate submitted information, and track loan processing in real-time.
The agency cautioned that no disbursements will be authorised unless the relevant institution has verified and uploaded its student data.
“Where a student’s loan status reads ‘Verified,’ it indicates that preliminary checks have been completed. However, the loan will not be disbursed until the institution submits and confirms the student’s data,” Oluwatuyi clarified.
She added that after a successful upload and validation by the institution, the student’s status will change to “Disbursed,” confirming that tuition payment has been processed.
Tertiary institutions were advised to prioritise this requirement to ensure their students are not excluded from accessing the loan facility.