The Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) has announced final deadlines for public tertiary institutions and newly admitted students to complete data submissions and validation under the government’s No Fees Stress initiative for the 2025/2026 academic year.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, March 10, and signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the SLTF, Dr Saajida Shiraz, the Fund said it “wishes to inform all public tertiary institutions that the final deadline for uploading student admission lists for the 2025/2026 academic year onto the No Fees Stress Portal is 20th March 2026.”

The Fund also directed admitted first-year students to take action to secure support under the policy. According to the statement, “admitted first-year students are also required to confirm and validate their admission details on the portal by 30th April 2026 to enable them to receive academic fee support under the Government’s No Academic Fees Policy.”

The SLTF explained that the timelines represent the final opportunity for both institutions and students to complete the required processes to benefit from the programme.

“The announced deadlines represent the final opportunity for public tertiary institutions to submit admission data for eligible students, and for admitted first-year students to validate their records to enable the SLTF process and disburse academic fees support in a timely manner,” the statement said.

The Fund also provided an update on the progress made so far in implementing the initiative.

“So far, the Students Loan Trust Fund has received admission data for 160,735 students, out of which 134,543 students have validated their admission details on the portal,” it noted.

It stressed that full compliance with the data submission and validation requirements is essential to ensure that all qualified students benefit from the policy.

“The full submission and validation of admission data is critical to ensuring that every eligible student benefits from the No Academic Fees initiative,” the statement added.

The Fund therefore urged both institutions and students to adhere strictly to the deadlines to guarantee the effective implementation of the programme.

“The Fund therefore urges all institutions and students to adhere strictly to the timelines to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the No Fees Stress Policy,” the statement said.