The Federal Government has announced the creation of a high-level committee to streamline and standardise fee payment processes across the country’s tertiary institutions.
This move aims to enhance financial operations between Nigerian universities and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, made the announcement in Abuja on Wednesday after a closed-door meeting with Vice-Chancellors of universities and NELFUND management.
He said the committee’s primary task will be to standardise the nomenclature for student fees and charges across universities.
“The committee will determine and publish standard timelines for when NELFUND will disburse funds and when universities must notify students,” he added.
The minister said institutions’ fees differ, but all universities would be required to adopt uniform terminology to ensure transparency.
The committee has been given three weeks to submit its report.
After the submission, the finalised guidelines for standardising fee payments across tertiary institutions will be made public.
Alausa said while universities had been receiving funds promptly, there was a pressing need to improve the timelines and efficiency of disbursement and notification processes.
Responding to questions about discrepancies between student fees and what NELFUND pays, Alausa attributed the differences to varying service charges by institutions.
He said the committee would create a clear framework for fee components to eliminate confusion and ensure accurate disbursements.
“Universities will disclose service charges upfront to avoid misunderstandings in refunded amounts,” he noted.
