The National Association of Nigerian Students, Zone C, has warned tertiary institutions across the North-Central region against withholding refunds due to students whose tuition fees were paid before the disbursement of loans by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
The students’ body also condemned what it described as arbitrary and exploitative charges imposed by some institutions.
Speaking with The PUNCH on Wednesday in Ilorin, the NANS Zone C Zonal Coordinator, Abiola Babatunde, said students who had already benefited from the Federal Government’s student loan scheme should not be subjected to additional financial hardship.
Babatunde said the association was concerned that some students who paid their tuition fees before receiving NELFUND disbursements had yet to receive refunds from their institutions, despite the schools having subsequently received payments from the Fund.
He said, “We are also deeply concerned about the delay in the refund of NELFUND payments by some institutions. Several students who benefited from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund had already paid their tuition fees before the loan was disbursed, yet many institutions have continued to withhold their refunds for months.
