The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) said it will reopen its portal in the second week of October 2025 for fresh applications into the 2025/2026 academic session and will remain open until January 2026.

The Fund directed institutions to promptly update their students’ records on the Student Verification System (SVS) to allow eligible applicants to participate in the new cycle.

NELFUND in a press statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communications, Mrs Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, on Monday, stated this while announcing the official closure of its 2024/2025 academic session application portal, effective Tuesday, September 30, 2025.

The Fund said the move marked the end of the second full cycle of the scheme and will enable it to finalise processing of pending applications and upkeep payments.

It said institutions yet to commence a new academic session within the stated window were advised to notify NELFUND for additional concessions.

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“All applications for the 2024/2025 academic session that remain unverified by institutions after October 8, 2025, will be automatically cancelled.

“Students in this category are strongly encouraged to prompt their school management to complete the verification process before the deadline. “Affected students will have to submit fresh applications for the 2025/2026 academic year,” the statement said.

NELFUND further noted that some students’ applications for the current session remained unapproved or unpaid due to institutions’ failure to complete the mandatory verification process.

“NELFUND is actively engaging with such institutions to resolve the delays. However, institutions that fail to comply by the stipulated deadline should note that the Fund will publish the names of all non-compliant institutions for transparency,” it said.

On upkeep allowances, NELFUND clarified that disbursements for the 2024/2025 session would continue until November 2025, but students must reapply for the 2025/2026 academic session to sustain their eligibility.