NELFUND may suspend loans as schools raise fees by over 500%

NELFUND warns that rising tuition fees across universities threaten the student loan programme and may force a suspension of disbursements.

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has condemned the steep tuition hikes by some tertiary institutions, describing them as exploitative and a threat to the sustainability of the student loan scheme.

A report obtained by The Guardian revealed that fees for courses like Medicine, Nursing, and Law rose by between 20 and 521 per cent across universities including LAUTECH, UNIMED, Edo State University, and DUFUHS. “Hiking tuition fees by the institutions is rather unfortunate and can be classified as a corrupt tendency,” lamented a parent, Alabi Ademola. The Fund said it might suspend disbursements to institutions with excessive increases and urged collaboration with the education ministry to establish national fee guidelines.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) called for urgent intervention, warning that the scheme could trap students in debt. The education ministry, however, maintained that education remains on the concurrent legislative list.