Some beneficiaries of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) in Abia and Imo have commended the scheme for easing the financial burdens of tertiary education while urging greater transparency and timely disbursement of students’ upkeep allowances.
Some of the students who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, in Umuahia, noted that the loan had enabled many students to remain in school despite prevailing economic challenges.
The respondents expressed optimism that addressing operational challenges would enable the student loan scheme to achieve its objective of expanding access to higher education for deserving Nigerian students.
Mr Destiny James, an undergraduate and beneficiary of the scheme, said his loan was approved on Jan. 10 and that he had received a refund after paying his tuition fees.
James, however, said there was a delay in the payment of the monthly ₦20000 upkeep allowance, noting that several months’ allowances were later paid together.
According to him, the delay made it difficult for some students to purchase textbooks and other academic materials when they needed them.
He urged NELFUND to improve transparency by publishing the status of verified beneficiaries, those who had been paid and the reasons some applicants were yet to receive their funds.
“Students should also be able to track their verification and payment status in real time,” he said.
Another beneficiary, Miss Chidinma Okeke, a 300-level student of a state university, described the loan as a lifeline for students from low-income families.
Okeke said that the scheme relieved her parents of the burden of raising tuition fees and enabled her to concentrate more on her studies.
She, however, appealed to NELFUND to ensure that upkeep allowances were paid promptly to help students meet transportation, feeding and other academic expenses.
A parent, Mrs. Ngozi Eze, whose daughter benefited from the scheme, said the intervention had brought significant relief to her family.
Eze said that the rising cost of education had made it difficult for many parents to finance their children’s university education without assistance.
She commended the Federal Government for introducing the scheme and urged its managers to sustain prompt disbursement and strengthen communication with applicants.
According to her, regular updates on applications and payments will reduce anxiety among students and parents and further enhance public confidence in the programme.
A civil servant, Mr. Ikenna Ebiri-Okoro, described the scheme as a commendable initiative that had eased financial burdens for many students by covering tuition and providing monthly upkeep allowances.
He, however, said that delayed refunds to students who paid fees before NELFUND disbursements reflected weak institutional accountability, adding that schools had an ethical obligation to refund affected students promptly.
According to him, the delays worsened financial hardship for students and families, depriving them of funds needed for accommodation, feeding, books and other academic expenses, while undermining confidence in the scheme.
Ebiri-Okoro urged the Federal Government to impose strict refund deadlines, publish compliance records, strengthen sanctions against defaulting institutions and ensure transparency to sustain public confidence in the student loan programme.
Meanwhile, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU) says it had commenced refunding tuition fees to students who paid before receiving support from Federal Government’s Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Ursula Akanwa, said she had directed the university bursar to immediately commence the refund.
Akanwa said that the decision was to ensure that students who made early payments were not denied the benefit of the federal loan scheme.
She explained that many students and parents borrowed money to meet the university’s registration timeline and portal deadline.
“If they had borrowed money from somewhere to pay their fees in order to meet the university’s registration timeline and portal deadline, and parents made arrangements to support their children, those funds have to be repaid.
“Now that the FG has released the money, it automatically means that money does not belong to the university,” she said.
The VC described NELFUND as a “win-win initiative” that has eased financial pressure on students and parents.
She noted that more than 12,000 MOUAU students have so far benefited from the scheme.
“Nowadays, we no longer have a lot of issues of students not paying fees because we have continued to encourage them to take advantage of NELFUND,” Akanwa added.
Confirming the development, the Head of Public Relations and Protocol, MOUAU, Mr. Anyaso Anyaso, said the university had taken steps to ensure prompt refunds.
“MOUAU has taken the first step and is now an exception.
“The university remains committed to transparency in implementing the students’ loan scheme while delivering on the progress and objectives of the institution,” he said.
A beneficiary, Mr. Patrick Kalu, hailed the loan scheme, saying it prevented many students from dropping out of the university.
“This is the best thing this government has done because it has helped a lot of students.
“Even some of my friends would have dropped out in 100 level or 200 level but this NELFUND helped them and all of us graduated together.
“I’m actually happy because I will recover some of the money I spent on my project,” he said.
Also reacting, a parent, Mr Chijindu Okoro, commended both the Federal Government and the university management.
“With this intervention from the Federal Government it makes it a bit easy for students to be able to go to school.
“It is commendable for MOUAU to take this initiative to refund them their money,” he said.
However, in Imo, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) called for creation of increased awareness on the Nigerian Educational Loan Fund (NELFUND) among students.
Comrade Pius Ogbuehi, NANS Public Relations Officer for Zone F (Southeast) made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri.
Ogbuehi, also the Students Zonal Representative for Imo, said that while many students were benefiting from NELFUND, some complained of lack of reimbursement of their school fees when they pay early.
He cited the case of one Miriam Nkemakolam, of the Imo State University (IMSU) who complained that her fees for the 2024/2025 academic year had yet to be refunded in spite of applying for reimbursement.
He called on defaulting tertiary institutions to update payments to enable students enjoy the benefits of the programme.
He, however, advised the Federal Government to seek to increase public awareness of the programme, adding that many students still appeared unaware of NELFUND, and could therefore not apply to benefit from it.
“Many students are not aware of NELFUND, so they haven’t been benefiting from it but if sensitization is increased, surely, many students will key in,” he said.
A former Students’ Union Government (SUG) President of IMSU, Mr Chidera Okparaji, said he was aware that students were receiving the fund.
Okparaji thanked the Federal Government for the support but said that he was not aware if students of the university were receiving the monthly upkeep all allowance of N20,000 which was part of the programme.
He also called for increased awareness of the programme adding that such awareness would encourage more students to join and also facilitate disbursement by the fund’s administrators.
The SUG President, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Mr Desmond Nwosu, told NAN that many students of the institution were benefiting from the programme.
He confirmed that students were being paid the monthly allowance although some students were still skeptical about joining the programme due to lack of thorough knowledge of how it works.
Nwosu, therefore, urged the Federal Government and the managements of tertiary institutions to device means to further educate students on the operations of the Fund.
He said this would both facilitate increased awareness and trust on the part of the students, some of whom he described as “not completely at home” with the idea of loans and how they would be repaid.
“We need to find a way to reassure the students that NELFUND is working very well so that they can be less skeptical.
“We need more awareness creation so that students can fully understand and trust the process,” he said.
On his part, the Public Relations Officer of IMSU, Mr Onyekachi Nwaozo, when contacted via a phone call, declined comment on NELFUND.
The Public Relations Officer of the Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Mr Nnaemeka Ijioma, however said that the programme was a success in the institution.
Ijioma said that information from the university’s bursary department confirmed that allegations of non-payment of student loans from NELFUND were “incorrect and unfounded.”
He advised students who have paid tuition before their loan was paid to apply to the university’s bursary department for refund stressing that such was the only channel for reimbursement.
(NAN).
