NELFUND Plans Token System to Stop Double Payment of School Fees

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has announced plans to introduce a digital token-based payment system to prevent double payment of tuition fees under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.

The Managing Director of NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed the proposed reform during an interview on ARISE News, explaining that the new system would allow students to authorise tuition payments to their institutions using tokens on their mobile phones.

Under the proposed arrangement, approved tuition funds would be represented by a digital token accessible to the student. The student would then visit the institution’s bursary and authorise the payment electronically.

Once the system is fully implemented, NELFUND intends to discontinue direct transfers of tuition fees to tertiary institutions, allowing students to initiate payments through the token system instead.

Sawyerr said the change was designed to address complaints arising when students paid their fees themselves while waiting for their loan applications to be processed, only for NELFUND to subsequently pay the same institutions.

The situation resulted in duplicate payments, leaving affected students dependent on their institutions to refund the money they had already paid.

NELFUND has been investigating complaints involving approximately 34 tertiary institutions over alleged failures to refund students following duplicate tuition payments. The investigations involve relevant anti-corruption agencies, the National Association of Nigerian Students and the fund’s internal auditors.

Sawyerr explained that some institutions had refunded affected students, while others had experienced difficulties processing refunds. He maintained that institutions receiving duplicate payments were responsible for returning the excess funds to the affected students.

He also said the fund was aligning its application and disbursement schedules with academic calendars to reduce the likelihood of students paying tuition before their loan applications were approved.

The managing director explained that NELFUND deliberately avoids paying tuition funds directly into students’ personal bank accounts because unrestricted access could lead to the money being diverted from educational expenses.

Under the proposed system, tuition payments would remain restricted to their intended purpose, while students would continue receiving approved upkeep allowances directly.

The initiative forms part of NELFUND’s broader efforts to improve transparency, strengthen accountability and address operational challenges in the student loan programme.

However, the token system was still described as a planned upgrade in the latest available reports, with no confirmed public launch date. Its effectiveness will depend on implementation, coordination with tertiary institutions and improvements to the timing of loan disbursements.