NELFUND investigates 34 institutions over delayed student refunds
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has launched investigations into about 34 tertiary institutions over allegations that they failed to refund students whose tuition fees were paid twice under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.
Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this during an interview on ARISE News, explaining that the probe followed numerous petitions from affected students. He said the agency is collaborating with anti-corruption agencies, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), internal auditors and other stakeholders to uncover the circumstances surrounding the complaints.
According to Sawyerr, the issue arose because the student loan scheme was introduced midway into an academic session after President Bola Tinubu directed its implementation. As a result, many students had already paid their tuition fees before their NELFUND loans were processed, leading to double payments to some institutions.
He noted that while NELFUND paid tuition directly to schools, institutions that received both students’ personal payments and NELFUND disbursements were responsible for refunding the affected students.
Sawyerr said many students urgently need the refunds because they or their families borrowed money to pay the initial tuition fees before the loans were approved.
He acknowledged that although several institutions had promptly refunded students, others had failed to do so, adding that the agency was still determining whether the delays were due to administrative shortcomings or deliberate actions.
To address similar challenges in the future, Sawyerr revealed that NELFUND is developing a token-based payment system that will allow students to electronically authorise tuition payments directly to their institutions.
He explained that the agency deliberately pays tuition fees directly to schools instead of students to minimise the risk of diversion of funds.
Sawyerr, however, admitted that NELFUND lacks the legal authority to compel institutions to refund students or prosecute defaulting schools, noting that many complaints had also been forwarded to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) by affected students.
He disclosed that a joint investigation involving NELFUND officials, internal auditors, anti-corruption agencies, the EFCC and NANS representatives had already been conducted at one institution accused of withholding refunds.
On concerns over tuition hikes, Sawyerr said NELFUND had refused to pay institutions that increased their fees beyond acceptable limits after the introduction of the loan scheme.
He added that the agency continues to investigate every reported irregularity while strengthening its systems to improve transparency and accountability in the student loan programme.
