The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to suspend recent school fees increases in public tertiary institutions, warning that the hikes could undermine the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

The lawmakers called on the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to engage institutional managers on halting the increases and reviewing tuition charges in line with current economic realities.

They also urged the government to increase financial support for public tertiary institutions to reduce their reliance on fees and other charges paid by students.

The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by the Chairman of the House Committee on Student Loans, Scholarships and Higher Education Financing, Ifeoluwa Ehindero, at plenary on Tuesday.

Moving the motion, Ehindero said the government established NELFUND to provide interest-free loans to students facing financial difficulties and help them access higher education.

He warned that sudden increases in tuition fees could undermine the scheme because its funding framework relied on existing tuition benchmarks and institutional cost structures.

The lawmaker noted that several public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education had increased their fees and other compulsory charges, with some hikes reportedly exceeding 100 per cent.

He expressed concern that some institutions introduced the increases without broad consultation or adequate consideration of the economic pressures on Nigerian households.

Ehindero said unchecked fee increases could widen disparities in access to education loans, leaving students from less affluent families struggling to meet the cost of their studies.

He also warned that the trend could lead to more student dropouts, unrest on campuses and declining public confidence in the government’s commitment to affordable tertiary education.

To establish the scale and justification of the increases, the House mandated its Committees on University Education, Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, and Federal Colleges of Education to investigate the matter.

The move comes amid growing controversy over rising charges in public tertiary institutions, with several universities increasing fees to meet operational costs.

In 2023, the Federal Government clarified that federal universities remained tuition-free, although students paid other charges, including registration, accommodation and laboratory fees. Several institutions had increased these charges amid economic pressures.

NELFUND also raised concerns in 2025 over sharp fee increases at some institutions, reporting cases of charges rising by as much as 900 per cent. The fund said it flagged applications involving 10 institutions while seeking clarification over the increases.

The intervention by the House seeks to reconcile the funding needs of public institutions with students’ ability to pay, while protecting the loan scheme’s goal of expanding access to higher education.