Student loan: UI confirms receipt of N201m for 1,370 students

The University of Ibadan has confirmed the receipt of N201m institutional fees remitted by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund for the payment of fees of students who forwarded their applications to the Fund.

The university, in a circular by the Registrar, G.O Salisu, dated August 9, 2024, and addressed to the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs, a copy of which was obtained by our correspondent on Monday, said students who applied for the loans but had earlier paid their fees can now apply for a refund.

It reads, “ The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has remitted the sum of N201m only to the university account for the 2023/2024 academic session. This amount is to cover the fees of 1,370 students of our university who applied for the NELFUND loan.

“The Bursary Department is currently processing the fund to enable the concerned students to obtain smart receipt.

“Any student who is a beneficiary of the NELFUND loan and has already paid levies for the session fee is entitled to a refund. To apply for a refund, the student must write through the Dean of Students to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, providing their account details for the refund. A photocopy of the original payment receipt must be attached to each application.”

The student loan scheme is President Bola Tinubu’s flagship project in the education sector.

Barely a month after his inauguration as President, Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, which created a legal framework for granting loans to indigent or low-income Nigerians to facilitate the payment of their fees in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

The law, reenacted earlier this year, created NELFUND, saddled with the responsibility of handling all loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery.

The fund, according to the Act, is to be funded from multiple streams and will engage in other productive activities.