Parents and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have offered suggestions on how to prevent students from collecting money from their parents for tuition fees already covered by the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.

The recommendations followed concerns raised by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) over alleged cases of beneficiaries collecting financial support from the agency while continuing to demand school fees from their parents without disclosing that their tuition had already been paid.

The practice, popularly described as double-dipping, has prompted calls for stronger verification, improved communication and greater transparency in the administration of the student loan programme.

NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, raised the concern during a media briefing in Abuja, where he announced plans to introduce new measures to prevent the misuse of the scheme and eliminate disputes arising from duplicate tuition payments.

Sawyerr said the fund had identified cases in which students benefited from NELFUND’s financial support but continued to rely on their parents to pay tuition fees already covered by the government.

He described the practice as unacceptable, warning that the agency would take steps to end it.

He also explained that some duplicate payments occurred because students were not promptly informed that NELFUND had already transferred their tuition fees to their institutions.

Consequently, some beneficiaries independently paid their school fees because they were unaware that the government-backed fund had settled the bills.

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To address the problem, NELFUND is introducing a token-based payment system that will allow students to authorise tuition payments directly to their institutions through a mobile application.

Under the proposed arrangement, students will receive notifications when their approved loan funds are ready for payment and can authorise the transactions through their phones.

The money will be transferred directly to the designated institutions rather than being made available for withdrawal into students’ personal bank accounts.

Sawyerr said the arrangement would eliminate unnecessary refund complications and give beneficiaries better control over the payment process.

He stressed that the token system would prevent students from redirecting approved tuition funds to personal accounts or other institutions.

NELFUND is also planning a parental verification portal through which parents can check whether their children’s school fees have been paid under the loan scheme.

According to reports, the proposed platform will allow parents to use their children’s matriculation numbers to confirm payment status without necessarily accessing the specific amounts involved.

The initiative is expected to help parents establish whether tuition obligations have already been settled before making additional payments.

Meanwhile, NANS has welcomed the token payment arrangement, describing it as a measure capable of improving transparency, accountability and efficiency in the student loan programme.

The association’s Public Relations Officer, David Obidah, said the innovation could address problems associated with duplicate transactions, delayed payment confirmations and refund disputes.

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He urged NELFUND to ensure that the system remained accessible and reliable, while calling on tertiary institutions to reconcile payments promptly, update students’ records and resolve discrepancies without unnecessary delays.

Obidah also emphasised the importance of proper communication between the fund, students, institutions and parents to prevent misunderstandings about tuition payments.

On the question of parental involvement, NANS has maintained that parents should be informed when their children apply for or receive student loans, but their consent should not become a compulsory condition for accessing the scheme.

The association argued that making parental approval mandatory could create unnecessary barriers for students whose parents are unavailable, financially incapable or unwilling to support their education.

It therefore favours a structured notification system through which parents and guardians can receive information about loan applications and approvals without having the power to determine whether eligible students can access the financial support.

Parents have also been advised to take a more active role in monitoring their children’s educational finances rather than making tuition payments without first confirming whether the students have benefited from NELFUND.

An official of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Dr Helen Nsirim, had earlier advised parents to verify the list of NELFUND beneficiaries before paying their children’s school fees.

She warned that some students allegedly concealed their beneficiary status from their parents to continue collecting tuition money despite receiving government assistance.

Nsirim urged parents to check with their children’s institutions and use available NELFUND information channels to establish whether their fees had been covered.

She also called on NELFUND to improve transparency by making beneficiary information accessible through appropriate channels.

Beyond the recommendations, stakeholders have stressed the need for tertiary institutions to maintain accurate payment records and notify students promptly whenever tuition fees are received from NELFUND.

This is considered important because delays in updating institutional records can leave beneficiaries uncertain about their financial status and expose them to unnecessary duplicate payments.

NELFUND has also announced plans to organise re-education workshops across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to explain the revised payment procedures to students, parents and tertiary institutions.

The workshops are expected to address misunderstandings about institutional fees, upkeep allowances, payment confirmation and the responsibilities of different stakeholders.

The development comes as the Federal Government continues to expand its interest-free student loan programme, established under the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024, to reduce financial barriers to tertiary education.

As of October 3, 2026, NELFUND had reported more than N372 billion in loan disbursements to beneficiaries across hundreds of tertiary institutions nationwide.

The growing scale of the programme has increased the need for effective monitoring, accurate financial records and stronger accountability mechanisms to ensure that public funds reach their intended beneficiaries.

While NELFUND’s proposed reforms are expected to address some of the challenges, their effectiveness will depend on timely implementation, cooperation from tertiary institutions and adequate communication with students and their families.

For parents, the immediate advice is to verify tuition payment status before paying school fees. Students, on their part, are expected to disclose their NELFUND beneficiary status and avoid collecting money for educational expenses already covered by the government.