 across){kind=link}
Federal Government Initiates Comprehensive Review of NELFund Operations in Universities Amid Fraud Allegations
The Federal Government has launched a thorough review of the operations of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) across universities nationwide. This initiative comes in response to mounting allegations of fraudulent practices in the disbursement of student loans, which have sparked widespread public concern.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the development during a press briefing held in Abuja on Wednesday, following a high-level meeting with university Vice Chancellors and the Managing Director of NELFund.
Dr. Alausa revealed that a multi-stakeholder committee has been established to carry out the review. The committee includes representatives from the Ministry of Education, NELFund, the National Universities Commission (NUC), and university Vice Chancellors.
Its mandate is to evaluate current disbursement procedures and recommend a set of standardized guidelines aimed at improving the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of the student loan process.
“We examined both the disbursement mechanisms employed by NELFund and the internal systems used by universities to receive and manage these funds. We also looked at how quickly students are informed and how promptly they receive the funds,” the Minister said. “While the current system is functional, it clearly needs enhancement.”
Dr. Alausa further explained that the committee will focus on several key areas, including the harmonization of fees and charges across universities and the establishment of clear timelines for loan disbursements by NELFund.
“One of the committee’s responsibilities is to standardize the terminology and structure of the various fees universities charge students,” he stated. “Another critical task is to define when and how NELFund disburses payments to institutions, ensuring predictability and transparency in the process.”
Emphasizing the government’s intention to refine rather than overhaul the existing system, Dr. Alausa noted that the goal is to optimize the current processes to better serve students and institutions alike.
“The mechanisms in place are working to a reasonable extent, but we want to make them more effective and student-friendly,” he said. “The committee has been given three weeks to submit its report to the Ministry, after which we expect to finalize and release new operational guidelines within the following four weeks.”
He concluded by assuring that the final recommendations, once reviewed, will be made publicly available to ensure full transparency and stakeholder engagement.