The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has launched investigations into approximately 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 Akintunde Sawyerr disclosed this during an interview on ARISE NEWS, stating that the agency had received numerous petitions from affected students and had begun working with anti-corruption agencies and other stakeholders to determine the extent of the alleged infractions.
Root Cause of Duplicate Payments
According to Sawyerr, the problem arose because President Bola Tinubu directed that the student loan scheme be rolled out in the middle of an academic session instead of waiting for the start of a new one. As a result, many students had already paid their tuition fees before NELFUND later settled the same fees directly with their institutions, leading to duplicate payments. “I can tell you that there are about 34 institutions that we are looking at at the moment because of the number of petitions we've received,” Sawyerr said.
Institutions Responsible for Refunds
Sawyerr explained that institutions which received the duplicate payments are responsible for refunding the affected students. “What happened is that a lot of schools got double payment, some from the students and some from us. The institutions that received the duplicate payments are responsible for refunding the students,” he said. He noted that many students urgently need the refunds because they borrowed money from parents, relatives, and friends to pay their tuition before the student loan scheme became operational. “Most students in this country are hard up. They don't have enough money for themselves. So when they make payment for their education and then they take a loan for the same education, they expect their money to be refunded to them,” he said. “Some of them have borrowed the funds, their parents have borrowed the funds, and they need to repay those funds.”
Multi-Agency Investigations Underway
The NELFUND boss said the investigations are being carried out in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the agency's internal auditors, and other relevant stakeholders. He added that a multi-agency team had already visited one of the institutions accused of withholding refunds.
Preventive Measures: Token-Based Payment System
To prevent a recurrence, Sawyerr disclosed that NELFUND is developing a token-based payment system that will allow students to authorise tuition payments directly at their institutions using their mobile phones. “We're looking at a tokenised system where the student has the funds effectively as a token on their telephone and when they go to the bursary, they can effectively push a button that makes the payment,” he said. He also explained that NELFUND deliberately pays tuition fees directly to institutions rather than students to prevent the diversion of education funds.
Legal Limitations and Broader Context
Sawyerr, however, admitted that the agency lacks the legal authority to compel institutions to issue refunds or prosecute those found wanting, noting that many affected students have also petitioned the EFCC and ICPC over the matter. The latest disclosure comes days after NELFUND warned tertiary institutions against delaying or refusing to refund students whose tuition fees had already been paid before the Fund's disbursement, stressing that the student loan programme was created to remove financial barriers to higher education, not create additional burdens for beneficiaries.
