The House of Representatives Committee on Student Loans, Scholarships and Higher Education Financing has threatened sanctions against tertiary institutions found to be violating the guidelines governing the administration of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The committee raised concerns over alleged cases of beneficiary institutions withholding funds released by NELFUND for verified students, delaying refunds to students who had already paid their tuition fees before disbursement, and making only partial refunds to eligible beneficiaries.
In a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Friday, the committee chairman, Ifeoluwa Ehindero, said recent monitoring activities and engagements had revealed that some beneficiary institutions were not fully complying with the requirements of the student loan scheme.
The committee said such practices could undermine transparency and accountability in the management of the scheme and negatively affect students who are entitled to the funds.
“It is important to state that such practices constitute serious compliance concerns, undermine transparency and accountability, erode students’ confidence in the system and may threaten equitable access to funding for higher education,” Ehindero said.
He added that prolonged delays in processing payment notifications and refunds could disrupt students’ academic progress and worsen the financial difficulties faced by beneficiaries.
The committee urged heads of beneficiary institutions to ensure that their bursars, directors of information and communication technology, and NELFUND desk officers strictly adhere to the financial requirements guiding the management of the funds.
“All beneficiary institutions are hereby directed to ensure that NELFUND funds received on behalf of students are promptly and fully applied for the intended purpose, including appropriate refunds where applicable,” the statement said.
The committee further warned that institutions found to have deliberately failed to comply with the guidelines could face sanctions under Section 5.6 of the NELFUND Guidelines.
“The Committee will continue to exercise its oversight responsibilities, and where deliberate non-compliance is established, the Committee shall be left with no other option than to invoke relevant sanctions under Section 5.6 of the NELFUND Guidelines,” Ehindero said.
According to the committee, the sanctions could include suspension of offending institutions from the scheme, recovery of funds and referral to relevant law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
The committee said it would continue to strengthen oversight of the scheme to promote transparency, accountability and proper management of funds.
It also reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that eligible students receive the financial support provided for their education under the Federal Government’s student loan programme.
