The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has warned tertiary institutions against unreasonable increases in tuition and other charges, saying schools that exploit the student loan scheme to raise fees risk having their payments withheld.
NELFUND Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Akintunde Sawyerr, gave the warning during an interview on TVC News Breakfast on Wednesday.
Sawyerr said some institutions had increased their fees following the introduction of the Federal Government’s student loan scheme, but NELFUND had refused in some cases to fund what it considered unreasonable charges.
He said the agency had introduced new guidelines to prevent institutions from taking advantage of increased liquidity created by the student financing programme.
According to him, some institutions had reversed their fee increases after realising that NELFUND could withhold payments for charges considered excessive.
NELFUND explains delay in upkeep payments
Sawyerr also addressed complaints about delays in the payment of students’ upkeep allowances.
He said NELFUND’s target was to process applications within about 45 days, but payments could take longer because institutions must verify applicants before funds are released.
He explained that NELFUND typically spends about 30 days processing applications internally before sending them to institutions for verification. The institutions are expected to complete the verification within another 15 days.
The NELFUND boss disclosed that between 850,000 and 900,000 students had received upkeep allowances, which are paid directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
Agency vows to tackle additional charges
Sawyerr further warned institutions against imposing additional charges on students as a condition for accessing NELFUND funding.
Although he said he was not personally aware of such cases, he assured students that the agency would take decisive action against any institution found to be creating barriers to accessing the loan scheme.
“We will not allow that to happen under any circumstances,” he said.
N322bn disbursed electronically
Sawyerr also defended NELFUND’s financial controls, stating that more than ₦322 billion disbursed by the agency was fully traceable through electronic transactions.
He said the agency does not disburse funds in cash, with payments to institutions and individual beneficiaries processed electronically.
According to him, NELFUND is subject to internal and external audits as well as oversight by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the National Assembly and other relevant bodies.
He added that the agency operates under data protection regulations to safeguard the personal and financial information of beneficiaries.
The NELFUND scheme currently covers publicly owned universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, including federal and state-owned polytechnics.
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