NELFUND Plans Job Portal To Support Graduates After School

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is setting up a central job portal to help students find work more easily after graduation.

The agency made this announcement during a media event in Abuja, marking one year since the student loan scheme was introduced.

Although NELFUND does not promise jobs, the Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, said the portal will serve as a link between graduates and potential employers in both the public and private sectors, as well as international companies seeking Nigerian talent. The portal is expected to go live in 2026.

Sawyerr explained that the platform is part of the agency’s efforts to support students beyond just giving loans. He said the loan repayment will only begin once a beneficiary gets a job after completing their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). According to him, no employed graduate will be forced to repay until they earn a salary.

Once employed, 10 percent of the graduate’s monthly income will be automatically deducted by their employer and paid to NELFUND. The deduction only continues while the person is working. If the individual resigns or is laid off, deductions stop immediately. In the case of death, the debt is cancelled without any pressure on the family.

Addressing issues around students who paid their fees before NELFUND disbursed funds to their institutions, Sawyerr said schools must return the money. He revealed that several students had reported paying under difficult conditions, only to discover that their fees had also been covered by NELFUND.

He urged institutions to refund the duplicate payments directly to the students or return the funds to NELFUND, which would then ensure the students receive the money. He said the refusal of some schools to make refunds has attracted the attention of anti-corruption agencies like the EFCC and ICPC.

Looking ahead, Mustapha Iyal, the Executive Director of Operations at NELFUND, shared that the agency currently manages records for over 3.2 million students. He projected that by the end of 2025, about one million new applications could be submitted, though he made it clear that the number is not mandatory.

Iyal added that the aim is to make sure financial challenges do not force students to abandon their education. He stressed that NELFUND’s long-term goal is to give every student a fair chance to complete their studies and transition smoothly into the workforce.

With plans to connect students to job opportunities and a repayment system tied strictly to employment, NELFUND says it is committed to giving students more than just financial aid — it wants to help them build stable futures.