The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has raised concerns over what it described as unethical practices by some tertiary institutions, accusing them of withholding tuition refunds from students and increasing school fees despite benefiting from the Federal Government’s student loan programme.
In a public notice issued on Monday, NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, said the agency had received several complaints from students whose tuition fees were paid twice. According to the Fund, many students had initially paid their fees before NELFUND later disbursed the same tuition directly to their institutions, yet some schools have allegedly refused or delayed refunding the students.
NELFUND also expressed dissatisfaction with reports that certain institutions had introduced arbitrary increases in tuition and other charges after becoming beneficiaries of the student loan scheme. It warned that such actions undermine the purpose of the initiative, which was established to make higher education more affordable for Nigerian students.
The agency stressed that the student loan programme, introduced by the administration of President Bola Tinubu, was designed to remove financial barriers to tertiary education rather than create additional burdens for students and their families.
To address the situation, NELFUND said it has begun engaging with the affected institutions as well as relevant regulatory authorities to ensure that all students entitled to refunds receive them without further delay.
The Fund added that it is also working with stakeholders to ensure that tuition fees and other institutional charges remain transparent, reasonable and consistent with the objectives of the student loan scheme.
“NELFUND remains committed to protecting the interests of students and preserving the integrity of this landmark national intervention,” the statement said.
The agency reaffirmed its determination to safeguard the credibility of the student loan programme, warning that beneficiaries must not be deprived of the full benefits of the Federal Government’s education financing initiative through exploitative practices by tertiary institutions.
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