Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has begun investigating 34 tertiary institutions over allegations that they failed to refund students whose tuition fees were paid twice under Federal Government’s student loan scheme. The agency said the investigation follows a surge in complaints from affected students.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking during an interview on ARISE Television, NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed that a five-member investigative team, comprising officials of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the agency’s internal auditors, has been deployed to examine the allegations across the affected institutions.
Sawyerr explained that the issue arose because the student loan scheme was introduced in the middle of an academic session on the directive of President Bola Tinubu. As a result, many students had already paid their tuition fees before NELFUND later disbursed payments directly to their institutions, leading to duplicate payments. He stressed that institutions that received both payments are responsible for refunding the students.
According to him, several students borrowed money from family members and other sources to meet registration deadlines while awaiting loan approval, making the refunds crucial. While some institutions have processed the repayments promptly, others have failed to do so, although NELFUND said it is yet to determine whether the delays were intentional or due to administrative shortcomings.
To prevent a recurrence, NELFUND said it is developing a token-based payment system that will allow students to authorise tuition payments electronically to their institutions.
Sawyerr also noted that the agency lacks the legal authority to compel schools to issue refunds or prosecute offenders, making collaboration with anti-corruption agencies essential in the ongoing investigation.
