NELFUND: Parents, Students Demand Transparency in Loan Payments

The National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have proposed measures to prevent students from collecting tuition fees from their parents after benefiting from the Federal Government's student loan scheme. Chairman of NAPTAN's Board of Trustees, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the practice defeats the purpose of the programme, which was established to ease the financial burden of higher education on parents and guardians. Speaking with Thursday Learning, Ogunbanjo suggested that the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) should introduce a notification system to inform parents whenever their children receive loan support for school fees. Similarly, NANS National Public Relations Officer, Comrade Obidah David, supported the proposal, recommending that parents receive text message alerts whenever payments are made to beneficiaries. He also suggested publishing the names of beneficiaries through traditional and social media platforms to promote transparency and accountability.

The recommendations follow concerns raised by NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, who disclosed that the fund had identified cases of students allegedly benefiting from the loan scheme while continuing to collect tuition payments from their parents. Sawyerr described the practice as unacceptable and said the agency was working to address it through improved monitoring and stakeholder engagement. He explained that parents would be able to verify whether their children's tuition fees had been paid through NELFUND without necessarily accessing the actual amounts involved. The managing director also announced plans to educate students, parents and tertiary institutions on changes to the loan administration process, including institutional payments and upkeep allowances. Meanwhile, NELFUND Executive Director, Mustapha Iyal, explained that institutional payments were processed using students' application identification numbers and wallet numbers rather than conventional bank account details. The proposed measures are aimed at strengthening transparency and ensuring that the student loan programme achieves its objective of improving access to tertiary education.

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