The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has accused some tertiary institutions of delaying or refusing to refund students whose tuition fees had already been paid before loan disbursements were made.

Condemning the practice as unethical in the implementation of the federal government’s Student Loan Scheme, NELFUND also decried the alleged arbitrary increase in tuition fees and other charges by some institutions. It stated that the development undermines the federal government’s objective of the student loan initiative, which was introduced to expand access to higher education.

In a statement yesterday, the NELFUND Director, Strategic Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, explained that the student loan programme was established to eliminate financial barriers confronting Nigerian students and not to create additional burdens for beneficiaries through unfair institutional practices.

She disclosed that the body was already engaging the affected tertiary institutions and relevant authorities to address the reported infractions, adding that efforts were underway to ensure that eligible students who had paid their fees before NELFUND released the funds get due refunds.

The body further stressed that institutional charges must remain fair, transparent and consistent with the objectives of the student loan scheme, warning against actions capable of eroding public confidence in the intervention.

According to NELFUND, “the Student Loan Scheme was established to remove financial barriers to higher education, not to create additional burdens for Nigerian students.”

Reaffirming its commitment to the programme, NELFUND assured that it would continue to protect students’ interests while safeguarding the integrity and credibility of the education financing initiative.