FG Probes Universities Over Alleged Unauthorized Deductions from Student Loans

The Federal Ministry of Education has launched an investigation into alleged unauthorized deductions by universities from funds disbursed under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, has summoned the Vice-Chancellors of affected universities for an urgent meeting to investigate the matter.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is also conducting a comprehensive investigation into alleged discrepancies surrounding the disbursement of student loans. According to the ICPC, only N28.8 billion out of the N100 billion released by the Federal Government was disbursed to students, leaving an unaccounted sum of N71.2 billion.

The ICPC's investigation has revealed that the total amount disbursed to institutions from inception to date was approximately N44.2 billion, with 293,178 students benefiting from the fund. The commission has confirmed that a clear case of discrepancies has not been established, but the investigation will extend to beneficiary institutions and individual student recipients.

The Minister of Education has emphasized the government's commitment to transparency and accountability in the education sector. He assured that anyone found culpable of financial malpractice will face appropriate sanctions. The Ministry will also launch a compliance-tracking initiative and a countdown webpage to monitor institutional transparency.

The management of NELFUND has denied allegations of misappropriation and mismanagement of funds, stating that the reports are entirely false and damaging to the institution's integrity. The fund's management insists that it maintains zero-tolerance to corruption and that all institutional fees are paid directly to verified institutions, while upkeep allowances are disbursed to verified bank accounts of eligible student applicants.