The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced plans to tackle alleged double-dipping by students who receive government-backed education loans while allowing their parents to continue paying their tuition fees. This move aims to strengthen transparency and prevent potential abuse of the student loan scheme. NELFUND's Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed the plan at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Under the proposed arrangement, parents will be able to confirm whether tuition payments have been made without necessarily accessing details of the amounts involved. This verification mechanism will enable parents to verify whether their children's institutional fees have already been paid through the student loan scheme. Sawyerr stated that the measure is intended to protect parents from making unnecessary payments.
Sawyerr identified that many students are currently "double-dipping" by taking loans from NELFUND and still having their parents pay their tuition fees. He emphasized that the fund will introduce a mechanism to put an end to this practice. The proposed verification mechanism is part of NELFUND's efforts to improve accountability as the Federal Government expands access to tertiary education through its student loan programme.
NELFUND also plans to organise re-education workshops across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones to explain changes to the loan scheme and clarify payment procedures. These workshops will target students, parents, and tertiary institutions, focusing on institutional charges, upkeep allowances, and documentation requirements. Sawyerr described this as "re-education" of stakeholders and students on the changes made in their favour.
NELFUND's Executive Director, Mustapha Iyal, provided further insight into the fund's payment processing system. He explained that institutional fees are processed separately from upkeep allowances, which are transferred directly to beneficiaries' personal bank accounts through external payment platforms. Iyal identified NIBSS Instant Payments and Paystack among the channels used for upkeep disbursements.
Iyal noted that delays in disbursements could arise from the financial institutions processing transactions. He disclosed that the pilot phase of the payment system covered approximately 400,000 students, with about 20,000 additional students recorded within a week. According to him, the system processes transactions for nearly 5,000 students daily.
The proposed verification mechanism and re-education workshops are part of NELFUND's efforts to ensure the effective implementation of the student loan programme. By introducing these measures, NELFUND aims to promote transparency, prevent abuse, and ensure that students and parents benefit from the programme as intended.
Key points
- NELFUND to introduce verification mechanism to stop students collecting double payments
- Re-education workshops to be organised across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones
- NELFUND processes institutional payments using students' application identification numbers and wallet numbers
