The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has increased funding for nursing and midwifery education nearly 14-fold to N811.9 million in the 2025/2026 academic session from N59.4 million in 2023/2024.
The latest figure was disclosed in a statement issued by NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, on Saturday.
The increase brings NELFUND’s total disbursement for nursing and midwifery education across three academic sessions to more than N1.08 billion, benefiting 5,381 students across 21 Federal and State institutions.
NELFUND said its intervention in nursing and midwifery education has expanded significantly over the last three academic sessions as it increases financial support for students pursuing professional healthcare training. Funding rose from N59.4 million in 2023/2024 to N205.8 million in 2024/2025 and N811.9 million in 2025/2026.
The beneficiaries are drawn from institutions including the Oyo State College of Nursing, Shehu Sule College of Nursing, Lagos State College of Nursing, Ogun State College of Nursing, Katsina State College of Nursing and Midwifery, Kebbi State College of Nursing and Cross River State Colleges of Nursing.
NELFUND Managing Director and Chief Executive, Akintunde Sawyerr, said the Fund was investing in the human capital needed to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare workforce. He said the increase in funding showed what could be achieved when financial barriers to professional education were reduced.
The institutions benefiting from the intervention are spread across several states, including Bauchi, Anambra, Kaduna, Taraba, Zamfara and the Federal Capital Territory.
The increase in nursing and midwifery funding forms part of NELFUND’s broader student loan programme, which has expanded significantly since its application portal opened in May 2024. The Fund’s Student Loan Disbursement Status Report generated on September 3, 2026, showed that 1,659,853 applications had been processed.
This compared with N322.69 billion as of August 19 and N206.29 billion disbursed to 1,164,222 beneficiaries by March 2026.
NELFUND’s rapid expansion has also brought operational challenges, particularly around upkeep payments. In January 2026, the Fund identified N927.98 million in unpaid upkeep allowances owed to 11,685 students due to failed transactions, network downtime and unvalidated bank details.
Under the existing repayment framework, beneficiaries begin repayment two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps, provided they have secured employment.
The student loan programme is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to reduce financial barriers to tertiary education. NELFUND was established under the revised Student Loan Act signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024, while its Student Loan Portal opened on May 24, 2024.
NELFUND has said that the government is also working on a homegrown ranking system for universities and other tertiary institutions to assess institutional performance and establish benchmarks for higher education.
