The allegation that some tertiary institutions have failed or refused to refund beneficiaries of the government’s education loan after it became clear that duplicate tuition fee payments had been made to them is disappointing. If the investigation of the matter being conducted by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and other government agencies confirms the accusation, it will amount to double billing by the affected schools, an illegality by supposed citadels of learning.

While it is distressing enough that students are taking loans to sponsor their education in a country that is richly blessed with human and natural resources, it is monumentally disturbing to lose such loans to corruption. Why are the schools appearing to constitute a barrier to the effective utilisation of loans taken by students to advance their studies when the opportunity for free education is not forthcoming? 
 
This ugly development should be nipped in the bud. The affected students should be refunded immediately the allegations are confirmed, and measures should be taken to prevent recurrence.
  
NELFUND is a Federal Government initiative that provides interest-free loans to eligible Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions. The fund covers both tuition and provides a monthly stipend for upkeep. It is designed to make higher education more accessible for students facing financial challenges. Specifically, the loans cover students in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education as well as vocational training schools. NELFUND implements it by paying tuition directly to the institutions while it pays the stipend directly to the students.
   
It was shocking recently when NELFUND disclosed that some tertiary institutions were being investigated for allegedly failing to refund students whose tuition had been paid twice. The double payment happened due to pressure on the students by the schools when the money expected from NELFUND to pay the fees was not coming in time. After the affected students had mobilised funds to pay by themselves, NELFUND later disbursed the same amount to the schools, meaning that payment for the same tuition was paid twice, necessitating a refund. It became a scandal when the schools failed to refund the students.
 
It is good that NELFUND, in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), has begun a probe of the unremitted funds to ensure that the institutions comply with the guidelines of the loans. The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has also come up with names of 43 institutions involved in the alleged scandal. The students’ body alleged that some of the affected schools went to the extent of making unauthorised deductions ranging from N3,500 to N30,000 from the loans.
 
Authorities at NELFUND are correct to have directed the defaulting institutions to immediately refund the students whose fees were double-paid, and that none of the students should be denied academic activities. The agency threatened to suspend any defaulting institution from receiving future disbursements if they fail to comply.
 
Nigerians see the seeming failure to refund the students as corruption in the system, and this is disappointing in universities and other higher institutions that serve as foundational pillars of modern society not only by being neutral conveners and independent spaces for democratic dialogue, ethical leadership and public service but also by producing the next generation of leaders for the country.

Indeed, the failure to refund the students is a big moral issue that sharply questions the integrity and qualification of the erring institutions to bequeath to the students the good character required to live a scandal-free life either as private individuals or as occupants of public offices. Part of the allegation by NANS is that some of the schools have created artificial administrative hurdles to make it difficult for the students to get refunded. It points to suspected desperation of the institutions to keep money that does not belong to them, and that is illegal.
  
The Minister of Education should summon the heads of the institutions to explain why it happened and, if necessary, make the schools apologise to the students. NELFUND should come out with measures to prevent recurrence. It is good to learn that already, the Fund has started to develop a system that will allow the students to authorise tuition payment to their schools electronically, using mobile phones and bypassing the bureaucracies of their institutions. This will boost communication that is very crucial among the three parties (NELFUND, higher institutions and the students) who are directly involved in the tuition fees payment. Unless they have something to hide, the schools’ authorities should give timely, adequate and clear information about receipt of the disbursements by NELFUND and the names of the benefiting students, which should be pasted on the notice board of all the departments, faculties and other information disseminating platforms in the schools for the beneficiaries to see. And if for any reason the tuition fee for any student or group of students is double-paid, it should not take a public outrage for the necessary refund to be made immediately.
 
It will be helpful to consider the timing for the release of the money by NELFUND so that the beneficiaries can expect it and follow it. And if the disbursement is delayed for a reason, there should be communication in that regard between NELFUND and the higher institutions so that pressure will not be put on the students, and to the extent that they will be denied academic activities while tuition payment is being awaited.
 
While some teething problems cannot be ruled out given that NELFUND is a new initiative, the stakeholders should quickly address the problems when they arise so as not to jeopardise the lofty objective of the intervention programme. Besides, the managers of the loan disbursement should ensure that the administrative cost of the NEFUND is not too high, just as they must prevent corruption that can spell doom for the scheme.