Financial Aid for Boosting Access to Higher Education in Nigeria: The Case of Nigerian Education Loans Fund
Abstract
Access to higher education in Nigeria is constrained by certain factors related to several factors, chef among which is finance. In this wise, the disparity in student enrolment between the wards of the rich and the poor as well as between different sections of the country is all too glaring and is occasioned by early contact with European missionaries and poverty to mention a few. As a culmination of previous efforts to boost access to higher education, the Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024, was signed into law in February, 2024, and was conceived to replace the earlier Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act 2023, ‘’as a body corporate to receive, manage and invest funds to provide loans to eligible Nigerians for higher education, vocational training and skills acquisition.’’ The purpose of this study is to examine the establishment of NELFUND vis-à-vis its primary responsibility of ensuring that no Nigerian student aspiring to higher education is denied the opportunity to do so through the provision of necessary resources to fund such aspirations. Using descriptive data obtained from the agency, this study examines the expected roles and possible impact of NELFUND on access to higher education in the country. The study recommends that NELFUND being one of the practical measures in the country should not be allowed to go under as its existence and sustainability should be guaranteed from political expedience.
References
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19. Moore, E., Burgess, A. P. (2022). Financial support differentially aids retention of students fromhouseholds with lower incomes: a UK case study. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2022.2125950#abstract
20. NAICU (2025). The Case for Doubling the Pell Grant. National Association for Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU). Retrieved from
https://www.naicu.edu/policy-advocacy/doublepell/making-the-case/
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23. Office of Sustainable Development Goals (2023). ABUAD provides comprehensive financial aidto poor and indigent students. Retrieved from
https://sdg.abuad.edu.ng/2023/10/31/2022-abuad-founder-provides-comprehensive-financial-aid-to-poor-and-indige
24. Oyedeyi, I (2025). NELFUND: Students lament loan delays amid exam anxiety. Punch,15th February 2025. Retrieved at https://punchng.com/nelfund-students-lament-loan-delays-amid-exam-anxiety/
25. Osuji, C. U., Okata, F.C. (2020. Access To University Education In Nigeria: Challenges and the Way Forward. International Journal of Research • January 2015.
26. Ozibo, R. (2024). FG proposes TETFUND to allocate 30% of its funds for studentNairametrics. Retrieved at https://nairametrics.com/2024/09/26/fg-proposes-tetfund-to-allocate-30-of-its-funds-for-student-loans/
27. Qi, S., Ma, Q., and Ji, X. (2022), The Influence of Financial Aid Systems on Student AcademicDevelopment in Higher Education in China. Sustainability 2022, 14,14068.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114068 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
28. Sawant, R.G., Sankpal, U. B. (2021). National Education Policy 2020 And Higher Education: A Brief Review. 2021 IJCRT | Volume 9, Issue 1 January 2021 | ISSN: 2320-2882
29. Stantcheva, S (2017). Lecture 8: Public Goods.
https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/stantcheva/files/lecture8.pdf.
30. Udoh, E. (2025). FG allocates N175.13 million to NELFUND in 2025 budget. Retrieved fromhttps://nairametrics.com/2025/01/09/fg-allocates-n175-13-million-to-nelfund-in-2025-budget/#:~:text=In
2. Ananyi, S.O., Onyekwere, L.A. (2024). TETFund and the Transformation of Higher Education In Nigeria. Retrieved at International Journal of Scientific Research in Education, June, 2024, Vol. 17(2), 264-278.
3. Asuquo, B. (2024). A Synopsis of the Students Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act 2023. https://omaplex.com.ng/a-synopsis-of-the-students-loan-access-to-higher-education-act-2023/
4. Bernal, G.L., Abadia, L.K., Alvarez-Arango, L.E., DeWitte, K. (2023). Financial aid uncertaintyand low-income students’ higher education preferences. Published: 13 September 2023 Volume 87, pages 1845–1863, (2024) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-023-01094-w
5. Bloomberg (2025). Nigerian Inflation at almost 29% High before Data Rejig. Retrieved fromhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-15/nigerian-inflation-rate-nears-29-year-high-before-data-over Cambridge Dictionary. Education.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/education
6. Chunchun, Y., Kanjanapathy, M, Saat, M.M. (2024). A Proposed Framework of The Effect of Financial Aid, Student Loan and Perceived Financial Well-Being on Student Engagement. Retrieved from https://hrmars.com/papers_submitted/20523/a-proposed- framework-of-the-effect-of-financial-aid-student-loan-and-perceived
7. Etong, C. N. (2016). Widening Access to Business Education Programme through Distance Learning in Nigerian Universities. Nigerian Journal of Business Education (NIGJBED) Volume 3. No.2, 2016.
8. Fryer Jr. R.J., Loury, G.C (2005). Affirmative Action and Its Mythology. Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 19, Number 3—Summer 2005—Pages 147–162
9. Gillen, A. (2009). Financial Aid in Theory and Practice: Why It Is Ineffective and What Can Be Done About It. Center for College Affordability and Productivity. Retrieved from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED536485.pdf
10. Holcombe, R.G. (1997). A Theory of the Theory of Public Goods. Review of Austrian Economics 10, no. 1 (1997): 1-22. Retrieved at
https://cdn.mises.org/rae10_1_1_2.pdf
11. IJMB (2025). History of Student Loans in Nigeria. Scholarship. IJMB. com, ng. 2025 Latest Scholarships for Nigerian Students Both Local and international Scholarships | Powered by Astra WordPress. Retrieved at https://scholarship.ijmb.com.ng/history-of-student-loans-in-nigeria/
12. Isiaka, A.B., Olaniyan, Y.D. (2024). The Nigerian Education Loan Fund: A Path to Inclusion orb Debt Trap? https://baice.ac.uk/hub/the-nigerian-education-loan-fund-a-path-to-inclusion-or-a-debt-trap/
13. Kelani, M. (2025). NELFUND increases access to higher education. AskNigeria News. 2025-02-19. Retrieved from https://asknigeria.com/nelfund-increases-access-to-higher-education/
14. Moshood M., (2025). Students Decry Inconsistent NELFUND Loan Disbursements, Interests. Foundation for Investigative Journalism 21.02.2025. Retrieved from
15. https://fij.ng/article/students-decry-inconsistent-nelfund-loan-disbursements-interests/
16. Takatori, A., Taylor, Z.W., Wandel, K. (2024). Playing Plinko: A Conceptual Framework for Student Financial Aid Communication. Retrieved from ttps://ssrn.com/abstract=4741982
17. Patel-Campillo, A.P, Salas Garcia, V.B. (2022). Breaking the poverty cycle? Conditionalcash transfers and higher education attainment. International Journal of Educational Development. Volume 92, July 2022, 102612. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059322000621
18. Press Releases. April 4, 2024. The Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act,2024. Retrieved at https://statehouse.gov.ng/news/in-detail-the-student-loan-access-to-higher-education-act-2024/
19. Moore, E., Burgess, A. P. (2022). Financial support differentially aids retention of students fromhouseholds with lower incomes: a UK case study. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2022.2125950#abstract
20. NAICU (2025). The Case for Doubling the Pell Grant. National Association for Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU). Retrieved from
https://www.naicu.edu/policy-advocacy/doublepell/making-the-case/
21. NELFUND (2025). Increasing Access to Higher Education. https://nelf.gov.ng
22. Ngoladi, U. (2025). Assessing The Early Impact and Implementation of Nelfund: A Policy Brief. Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership. Athena Perspectives, Vol. 2 Issue 3 Edition 18 February - 25 February 2025
23. Office of Sustainable Development Goals (2023). ABUAD provides comprehensive financial aidto poor and indigent students. Retrieved from
https://sdg.abuad.edu.ng/2023/10/31/2022-abuad-founder-provides-comprehensive-financial-aid-to-poor-and-indige
24. Oyedeyi, I (2025). NELFUND: Students lament loan delays amid exam anxiety. Punch,15th February 2025. Retrieved at https://punchng.com/nelfund-students-lament-loan-delays-amid-exam-anxiety/
25. Osuji, C. U., Okata, F.C. (2020. Access To University Education In Nigeria: Challenges and the Way Forward. International Journal of Research • January 2015.
26. Ozibo, R. (2024). FG proposes TETFUND to allocate 30% of its funds for studentNairametrics. Retrieved at https://nairametrics.com/2024/09/26/fg-proposes-tetfund-to-allocate-30-of-its-funds-for-student-loans/
27. Qi, S., Ma, Q., and Ji, X. (2022), The Influence of Financial Aid Systems on Student AcademicDevelopment in Higher Education in China. Sustainability 2022, 14,14068.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114068 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
28. Sawant, R.G., Sankpal, U. B. (2021). National Education Policy 2020 And Higher Education: A Brief Review. 2021 IJCRT | Volume 9, Issue 1 January 2021 | ISSN: 2320-2882
29. Stantcheva, S (2017). Lecture 8: Public Goods.
https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/stantcheva/files/lecture8.pdf.
30. Udoh, E. (2025). FG allocates N175.13 million to NELFUND in 2025 budget. Retrieved fromhttps://nairametrics.com/2025/01/09/fg-allocates-n175-13-million-to-nelfund-in-2025-budget/#:~:text=In
Authors
[1]
“Financial Aid for Boosting Access to Higher Education in Nigeria: The Case of Nigerian Education Loans Fund”, Soc. sci. humanities j., vol. 9, no. 03, pp. 7420–7431, Mar. 2025, doi: 10.18535/sshj.v9i03.1747.
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