The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has taken aim at tertiary institutions it says are engaged in sharp practices against student loan beneficiaries including withholding tuition refunds and raising school charges without justification.
In a public notice issued Monday, NELFUND’s director of strategic communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, said the agency had received reports that some institutions were refusing or delaying refunds to students who had paid their fees before the Fund later disbursed the same fees directly to their schools.
The agency also flagged arbitrary hikes in tuition and other institutional charges, warning that such moves directly undermine the objectives of President Bola Tinubu’s student loan programme — which was designed to remove financial barriers to higher education, not create new ones.
NELFUND said it had begun engaging affected institutions and relevant regulatory authorities to ensure eligible students receive their refunds promptly. It added that steps were underway to keep tuition and institutional charges fair and transparent.
“NELFUND remains committed to protecting the interests of students and preserving the integrity of this landmark national intervention,” the agency said, vowing to prevent exploitative institutional practices from denying beneficiaries the full value of the federal government’s education financing scheme.
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