The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has said that student loan repayment by beneficiaries automatically ceases in the event of their death, and families will not be pursued to repay the debt.

The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, made this known on Thursday during a media engagement in Abuja to mark one year since the scheme was launched.

He said, “If an employee is laid off or resigns, the deductions stop. And in the event of death, the loan is written off. The family is not harassed.”

He explained that NELFUND student loan repayment only begins after a beneficiary has secured a job and completed the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

According to him, “If you don’t have a job, you don’t pay. And when you eventually get a job, your repayment starts fresh.”

Sawyerr noted that once employed, 10 per cent of the beneficiary’s monthly income will be automatically deducted by the employer and remitted to NELFUND, after verification through the agency’s employment register.

While stating that NELFUND does not guarantee jobs, the managing director disclosed that a centralised job portal will be launched by 2026 to help beneficiaries access employment opportunities in Nigeria and abroad.

“We don’t just give a loan and leave students on their own. This job portal is our way of supporting their journey towards economic stability,” he added.

Sawyerr also addressed concerns raised by students who had paid tuition fees before NELFUND disbursed funds to their institutions.

He appealed to the schools to refund such payments, saying, “Institutions must refund this money. It’s disappointing that some schools have ignored this responsibility.”

He said the agency had received several petitions from students who paid “under duress” only to discover that NELFUND had already paid their fees, adding that anti-graft agencies like the ICPC and EFCC have begun investigating defaulting schools.

“If an institution cannot refund directly to the student, they can pay the money back to us, and we will ensure it gets to the rightful student.” (Nigerian Tribune)