The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) announced on Wednesday that the Student Loan Application System (SLAS) has been completely digitised to enhance and speed up the loan application process for both institutions and students.

According to a statement by NELFUND’s Director of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, the upgrade mandates all accredited institutions to request access to SLAS in order to verify and upload students’ information tied to loan applications. This, the Fund said, is a vital requirement to ensure timely loan approvals and disbursements.

Institutions that are yet to be onboarded are encouraged to promptly send an access request to registration@nelf.gov.ng. Once access is granted, institutions will be able to monitor their students’ loan applications in real time, verify submitted details, and track application statuses through a dedicated dashboard.

“We urge all institutions to act swiftly for the benefit of their students, as institutional data verification and uploads are essential steps before loan approvals and disbursements can be completed,” the statement added.

This initiative is part of President Bola Tinubu’s key reforms in the education sector. Shortly after assuming office, President Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, which provides a legal basis for offering financial support to underprivileged Nigerians seeking higher education in the country.

The Act also reestablished the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as the central body for managing these student loans.