- Student Loan: NELFUND Orders Schools To Refund Eligible Students
- Agency condemned arbitrary tuition fee increases by tertiary institutions.
- Over ₦282 billion has been disbursed to 1.5 million students.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has warned tertiary institutions against delaying or refusing to refund students who paid their tuition fees before the Fund disbursed payments on their behalf.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the agency also cautioned institutions against imposing arbitrary increases in tuition and other charges, insisting that the student loan scheme was created to ease access to higher education, not to place additional financial burdens on students.
The warning was contained in a statement issued by NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, following reports that some institutions had failed to refund eligible students months after receiving tuition payments from the Fund.
“The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has noted with concern reports of some tertiary institutions delaying or refusing to refund students whose tuition fees had already been paid before NELFUND disbursements, as well as arbitrary increases in tuition and other institutional charges,” the statement read.
According to the agency, the student loan initiative introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration was designed to remove financial barriers to higher education and should not be exploited by institutions.
“It was established to remove financial barriers to higher education, not to create additional burdens for Nigerian students,” it stated.
NELFUND said it has begun engaging affected institutions and relevant authorities to ensure that students entitled to refunds receive them without further delay.
The Fund also stressed that it would continue to monitor compliance and ensure that charges imposed by institutions remain fair, transparent and consistent with the objectives of the student loan programme.
It reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the interests of Nigerian students and preserving the integrity of the scheme.
The warning comes amid growing complaints by students, with the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) raising concerns over institutions that allegedly failed to refund tuition fees despite receiving payments from NELFUND.
The student loan scheme was established in April 2024 after President Bola Tinubu signed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Act into law.
As of June 25, NELFUND disclosed that it had disbursed about ₦282 billion for institutional fees and students’ upkeep allowances, benefiting more than 1.5 million students across 301 tertiary institutions nationwide.
