NELFUND: Student Loan Not Designed To Burden Nigerian Students

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has cautioned tertiary institutions against delaying or refusing to refund students who paid their tuition fees before the agency disbursed education loans on their behalf.

According to a statement issued by the Fund’s Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, NELFUND expressed concern over reports that some higher institutions have failed to reimburse affected students despite receiving tuition payments through the student loan scheme. The agency also condemned what it described as arbitrary increases in tuition fees and other institutional charges by some schools.

NELFUND emphasized that the student loan programme, introduced under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, was established to eliminate financial barriers to higher education and should not become a source of additional hardship for beneficiaries. It stressed that the initiative was designed to support students rather than place further financial burdens on them.

The Fund disclosed that it has commenced engagements with affected institutions and relevant authorities to ensure that all eligible students receive the refunds due to them. It also reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that fees and charges imposed by institutions remain fair, transparent, and consistent with the objectives of the student loan scheme.

NELFUND further reiterated its resolve to protect the interests of students and preserve the credibility and integrity of the programme.

The development follows concerns raised by the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), which has received increasing complaints from students alleging that several institutions have failed to refund tuition fees months after NELFUND paid the same fees directly to their schools.

The agency, established in April 2024 following President Bola Tinubu’s assent to the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) (Repeal and Re-enactment) Act, disclosed that as of June 25, it had disbursed approximately ₦282 billion for institutional fees and students’ upkeep allowances, benefiting more than 1.5 million students across 301 tertiary institutions nationwide.