The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Akintunde Sawyerr, has disclosed that the agency is investigating 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 programme.
Speaking during an interview, Sawyerr said the investigations followed numerous complaints and petitions from affected students. He added that NELFUND is working with anti-corruption agencies, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), internal auditors, and other relevant stakeholders to determine the extent of the alleged misconduct and ensure deserving students receive their refunds.
According to him, the issue arose because the student loan scheme was introduced in the middle of an academic session, leading many students to pay their tuition before later receiving loan approvals.
As a result, some institutions reportedly received tuition payments from both the students and NELFUND, making it their responsibility to return the duplicate payments to the affected beneficiaries.
Sawyerr explained that many students urgently need the refunds because they borrowed money from relatives or other sources to pay their school fees before the loan scheme became operational.
He acknowledged that while some institutions had processed the refunds without delay, others had yet to do so. However, he cautioned against immediately assuming deliberate wrongdoing, noting that some schools may simply lack an efficient refund process.
To prevent similar situations in the future, Sawyerr revealed that NELFUND is developing a token-based payment system that will allow students to authorize tuition payments directly from their mobile devices at their institutions, reducing the chances of duplicate payments.
He also explained why the agency does not transfer tuition loans directly into students’ bank accounts, stating that the decision was made to prevent the diversion of education funds to non-academic purposes.
The NELFUND boss admitted that the agency does not have the legal authority to arrest or prosecute institutions that fail to comply but noted that reports are being shared with appropriate anti-corruption agencies for further action where necessary.
He disclosed that many of the ongoing investigations were initiated following petitions submitted by students, with some cases involving joint investigative teams made up of NELFUND officials, representatives of anti-corruption agencies, internal auditors, and student leaders.
On the issue of rising tuition fees, Sawyerr said some institutions attempted to increase their charges after the introduction of the loan scheme. However, he stated that NELFUND refused to approve or pay fees it considered excessively inflated.
Despite the ongoing investigations, he maintained that the agency would continue to examine each case carefully before reaching conclusions, while strengthening its processes to improve transparency and accountability within the student loan programme.
