Student Loan: FG Creates Committee To Standardise Fee Payment

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Federal Government says it has created a high-level committee to simplify and standardise the processes of fee payment across the various tertiary institutions in the country.

This is part of plans to improve the financial operations between Nigerian universities and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, stated this in Abuja on Wednesday after the meeting with Vice-Chancellors of universities and NELFUND management.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Alausa stated that while universities have been getting funds on time, there is a huge need to improve the timelines and processes that are connected in the disbursement and notification systems.

According to him, there was no fraud in NELFUND as speculated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

He said: “The current processes are working, but we are working to better the world we have now.

“The aim is to serve both NELFUND and our citizens more efficiently, and align with the broader agenda of the current administration.”

He further disclosed that a major decision made in the meeting was the formation of a committee with representatives from NELFUND, the Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission, and also key university officials.

He stated that the committee would have the job of standardizing the fee.

According to Alausa, to make sure of transparency, all universities will make use of a uniform terminology for student fees and charges, however, the amounts may vary from the various institutions.

“The committee will come up with the timeline on when NELFUND will pay the fees and the timeline the university will notify students to determine and publish standard timelines for,” he said.

Responding to a question on if there are discrepancies in the student’s fees and to what FUND pays, Alausa stated that the difference was in the service charge, which varies from institution to institution.

“The committee will come up with a clear nomenclature on the charges, and all the problems of differences in school fees payment and the actual payment by NELFUND will be eliminated.

“Universities will disclose service charges upfront to avoid confusion over discrepancies in refunded amounts,” he said.

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