NELFUND Warns Universities of Penalties for Student Loan Misconduct

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has issued a warning that tertiary institutions found guilty of fraudulent activities—such as altering student records, colluding with students to secure loans, or failing to return excess funds—will face sanctions.

This warning was detailed in the most recent operational guidelines of the student loan programme, which were made available to the media on Tuesday.

It is worth noting that some higher institutions have previously come under investigation for receiving excess loan disbursements and failing to return duplicate payments to the fund. The updated guidelines now introduce stricter penalties for such violations.

As outlined in the document, “An eligible tertiary institution shall refund any overpayment or duplicated payments made for any student. Institutions are to process and issue refunds within a maximum of 30 calendar days or within such other period as may be determined by the board.”

Regarding penalties, the fund stated that any tertiary institution that breaches the Student Loan Act, 2024, or any relevant part of the accompanying guidelines, will be barred from receiving further disbursements.

The document further stated: “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.”

In addition, NELFUND indicated that ongoing disbursements could be put on hold during any investigation into suspected irregularities or misconduct.

However, the fund clarified that stopping an institution from receiving further disbursements would not affect students who are already benefiting from the loan scheme—unless the case specifically involves excess or duplicated payments.