The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is introducing a technology-driven payment system that will allow student loan beneficiaries to initiate tuition fee payments to their institutions, in a move aimed at preventing double payments and improving accountability.
NELFUND Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, describing the proposed NELFUND 2.0 as a major upgrade to the student loan scheme, which has provided educational financing to more than one million beneficiaries.
Under the new system, students whose loan applications have been approved will be able to initiate payments to their respective institutions through a secure digital platform linked to their application identification numbers.
The system will prevent funds from being transferred to students’ personal accounts or diverted to other institutions.
Sawyerr said the reform was designed to address cases in which institutions received tuition payments from NELFUND without promptly notifying the affected students. Some beneficiaries, as a result, paid their fees independently and later sought refunds.
The new arrangement is expected to notify students when payments are initiated and ensure that approved tuition funds are directed only to the designated institutions.
NELFUND also plans to introduce a portal that will allow parents to check whether their children’s school fees have been paid without accessing sensitive payment information.
According to Sawyerr, the initiative is intended to discourage students from collecting money from their parents for fees already covered by the loan scheme.
He clarified that the reform would not involve disbursing cash directly to students but would instead allow them to trigger payments through a controlled digital process.
The NELFUND chief executive said the system was undergoing pilot implementation, with more than 400,000 applications reportedly processed through the evolving arrangement.
To support the transition, the Fund plans to organise two-day regional workshops across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. The workshops will involve institutional heads, registrars, bursars, information technology personnel, NELFUND desk officers, student union leaders and other stakeholders.
The sessions are expected to familiarise participants with the revised platform, improve application verification and institutional processing, strengthen technical support and reduce avoidable errors.
Sawyerr said the changes were part of efforts to improve the scheme as public awareness grows and applications increase.
He described the student loan programme as a long-term investment in Nigeria’s human capital, noting that access to education financing could help develop professionals in fields such as medicine, engineering, law and science.
Although he acknowledged that future demand could exceed available resources, Sawyerr expressed confidence in the scheme’s sustainability, citing the Federal Government’s continued support
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