NELFUND LOAN: Reps Committee Threatens Sanction Against Defaulting Eligible Tertiary Institutions

The House of Representatives Committee on Student Loans, Scholarships and Higher Education Financing has warned against non-compliance in the Management and Administration of the Student Loan Scheme by some beneficiary institutions.

The committee chairman, Hon Ifeoluwa Ehindero, in a statement made available to journalists said recent monitoring activities and engagements by the Committee revealed that a number of beneficiary institutions were not fully compliant with the requirements governing the administration of the Student Loan Scheme. He added that the Committee is particularly concerned about cases where institutions:

• Withhold funds released by NELFUND for verified beneficiaries;
• Delay refunds to students who had already paid their tuition fees prior to NELFUND disbursement; and
• Make only partial refunds to eligible beneficiaries.
According to the statement, “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. Prolonged delays in the processing of payment notifications and refunds may also disrupt academic progress and compound the financial hardship faced by affected students.

“The Committee urges all Heads of beneficiary institutions to ensure that their Institutional Bursars, Directors of ICT and NELFUND Desk Officers strictly adhere to financial discipline in the Management and Administration of NELFUND 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 Committee will continue to exercise its oversight responsibilities and where deliberated 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 which includes but not limited to suspension of such beneficiary institution(s) from the scheme, recovery of funds and referral to relevant law enforcement and regulatory agencies to effectively address these issues, targeted oversight measures will stimulate enforcement mechanism, promote data transparency and strengthen the scheme’s accountability framework.

“House of Representatives Committee on Student Loans Scholarships and Higher Education Financing, remains committed to ensuring that the Federal Government’s good intentions in expanding access to affordable higher education is not frustrated and that no student is denied the benefit of funds legitimately provided for their education” the statement added.