The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has issued a stern warning to tertiary institutions involved in fraudulent practices related to the student loan scheme, stressing that offenders will face sanctions.
According to the latest operational guidelines obtained by Hobnob News, institutions found guilty of falsifying student records, colluding with students to obtain loans, or failing to refund overpaid or duplicated funds will be penalized.
In recent months, concerns have been raised over incidents where some institutions failed to return excess disbursements, raising accountability questions around the scheme.
The new guidelines make clear that, “An eligible tertiary institution shall refund any overpayment or duplicated payments made for any student. Institutions are required to process and issue refunds within a maximum of 30 calendar days, or within such other period as may be determined by the board.”
On sanctions, NELFUND stated that any institution that violates the Student Loan Act, 2024, or its operational guidelines will be suspended from receiving further disbursements.
The fund further emphasized: “An institution shall be suspended if it engages in fraudulent activities related to institutional charges payment, such as falsifying student information or colluding with students to obtain loans for ineligible purposes, or if it fails to refund any overpayments or duplicate payments made for any student.”
While disbursements may be temporarily withheld during investigations into suspected misconduct, NELFUND clarified that such measures will not affect existing students already benefiting from the loan scheme, except in cases of overpayment or duplication.
