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NELFUND closes 2024/2025 loan portal, sets timeline for next application

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The Nigerian Education Loan Fund said the application portal for the 2024/2025 academic session will officially close on Tuesday.

The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Monday.

Sawyerr said this was to allow the Fund to conclude processing of pending applications and upkeep payments.

He also announced timelines for the 2025/2026 academic cycle, in line with its mandate to expand access to higher education through interest-free student loans.

According to him, the loan portal will reopen in the second week of October for fresh applications and remain open until January 2026.

”NELFUND remains committed to removing financial barriers for students and working with institutions to ensure that no eligible student is left behind.

“These timelines provide clarity for students, parents, and institutions to plan and participate fully in the process,” Sawyerr said.

The managing director directed institutions to update their students’ records on the Student Verification System to enable applicants access the scheme.

He added that all unverified applications for 2024/2025 would be automatically cancelled after Oct. 8, noting that students affected would be required to reapply under the new session.

He warned that institutions that failed to verify students’ records risk being publicly listed for non-compliance.

On upkeep stipends, Sawyerr explained that the payment for the 2024/2025 session would continue until November, adding that students were expected to reapply for 2025/2026 to continue receiving payments.

On repayment terms, he reiterated that the scheme remained interest-free while repayment would begin two years after completion of the National Youth Service Corps, with employers mandated to deduct 10 per cent of beneficiaries’ salaries.

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He further expressed concern over arbitrary hikes in tuition and ancillary fees by some institutions, noting that a committee set up by the Minister of Education is working with regulators to harmonise and standardise fee structures across institutions.

Responding to concerns about upkeep stipends, he said the current ₦20,000 monthly allowance would not be increased immediately.

Sawyerr said an ongoing review of cost-of-living indices across different regions could however lead to weighted adjustments in future.

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Education

Suspended FUOYE SUG president reinstated — NANS

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The National Association of Nigerian Students has announced the reinstatement of the suspended Students’ Union Government President of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) , James Adio.

NANS President, Akinteye Babatunde, disclosed this in a post on X on Wednesday, after it disclosed that university’s Senate would consider Adio’s suspension following what it described as high-level engagement with the institution’s management.

“Finally, Comrade Adio, the FUOYE SUG President, has been officially reinstated,” Babatunde wrote.

PUNCH Online had earlier reported that NANS said it secured the reinstatement of some previously suspended students after discussions with the university authorities.

According to the student body, the intervention followed sustained talks with the management over disciplinary actions taken against some students.

Babatunde had said, “The University Senate will convene on Wednesday, 24 June 2026, to give Comrade James Adio fair consideration and the necessary support that will serve both the interest of justice and his academic pursuits going forward.”

He also stated that the affected students had been reinstated and allowed to sit for their examinations.

Adio was earlier suspended alongside two other students over alleged financial irregularities linked to practical fees, a decision that sparked criticism from NANS.

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JAMB axes affiliated degree courses in colleges of education; read details

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has formally ended admissions into affiliated degree programmes run by colleges of education, marking a major shift in Nigeria’s teacher education system and effectively making the Nigeria Certificate in Education the sole entry route into the institutions from the 2026/2027 academic session.

The decision is contained in JAMB’s newly released NCE/ND Agric Registration Guidelines issued by the Office of the Registrar in June 2026.

Under the new policy, the board declared that “no admission into any affiliated programme in any college of education from the 2026/2027 session.”

JAMB also ruled out direct admission into 100 and 200 levels in colleges of education, insisting that all fresh entrants must now come through the NCE programme.

“With effect from 2026/7 session, no admission into 100 or 200 Level is allowed into any college of education. All entrants are through NCE,” the board stated.

The development signals the end of an era for affiliated degree programmes, which for decades enabled colleges of education to award university degrees through partnerships with conventional universities.

The reform is expected to affect thousands of candidates who applied for degree programmes through affiliated colleges of education for the 2026 admission cycle.

To cushion the impact, JAMB outlined options for candidates who had already selected affiliated colleges of education for degree programmes through Direct Entry.

According to the board, affected candidates may apply for a change of institution at no cost, transfer to the parent university to which the degree programme is affiliated, or allow their second-choice institution to become their first choice for admission processing.

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“A candidate may choose to be moved to the parent university to which the degree programme is affiliated,” the board said.

JAMB added that candidates wishing to switch institutions had been given up to June 22 to complete the process.

Similarly, candidates seeking 100-level admission into affiliated colleges of education through the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination have been presented with three options: change institution, elevate their second-choice institution to first choice, or migrate to the NCE programme.

The board said candidates who opted for the NCE route would be required to obtain an O-Level verification code from the relevant examination body and pay only N700 as registration fee on the JAMB portal.

“The candidate may be moved to the NCE programme of the institution, on the understanding that the choice of the college of education indicates an interest in pursuing the NCE qualification,” JAMB explained.

The guidelines further stipulate that every application for NCE admission is a deliberate choice and that candidates recommended for NCE admission would have any ongoing UTME or Direct Entry admission process suspended.

“Anyone who chooses NCE and s/he is proposed/recommended would have any ongoing UTME/DE process suspended,” the board stated.

For candidates who have already applied through the 2026 UTME mode, JAMB said their details would be automatically migrated to their chosen first-choice college of education or agric-related non-technology ND programmes.

The board also introduced mandatory O-Level verification for all NCE applicants, pegging the verification fee at N1,500 for one sitting and N2,000 for two sittings.

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JAMB urged colleges of education, institutional professional registration centres, accredited CBT centres and its officials across the country to study the new guidelines and ensure strict compliance.

“All PRCs, IPRCs and officers of the board are to study the guidelines and ensure strict compliance with the information contained therein,” the Registrar stated.

Affiliated degree programmes have long served as a pathway for colleges of education to offer Bachelor’s degrees in partnership with universities, allowing students to earn university degrees while studying in the colleges.

However, the new JAMB policy effectively ends that arrangement for new admissions from the 2026/2027 academic session, reinforcing the NCE as the foundational qualification for teacher education in Nigeria.

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FUOYE suspends two students over leaked private video of suspended ex-SUG president

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The management of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), has suspended two students with immediate effect over allegations that they cyberbullied the institution’s suspended Students’ Union Government president, James Iyanuoluwa Adio.

This was contained in a statement published on the university’s official news portal on Friday, attributed to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Professor Tajudeen Opoola, who is the Acting Vice-Chancellor.

The two students, identified as Alao Iyanuoluwa Odunayo and Olawale Abiodun Samuel, were accused of conspiring to cyberbully Adio “by posting his private affairs online for Adio’s inability to meet their financial demands.”

The management said it frowned at the duo’s involvement in what it described as conduct capable of denting the image of the university.

It added that investigations into the matter were ongoing, but ordered the two students to proceed on suspension immediately, stressing that the institution was determined to purge itself of any behaviour likely to tarnish its image.

Adio was suspended by the university last week alongside the Deputy Director, Students Affairs, over allegations bordering on extortion.

He was accused of being indirectly involved in the illegal collection of ₦1,000 from first-year students for practical sessions, with ₦700,000 said to have been traced to his personal account.

His suspension was followed by the circulation of an explicit video allegedly involving him, which trended widely on social media and drew the intervention of the National Association of Nigerian Students.

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