Students Back Loan Token System, Warn Varsities Against Payment Delays

National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has backed the introduction of the Token Payment System by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

It urged tertiary institutions to promptly reconcile tuition payments to prevent students from being denied access to examinations and other academic services.

NELFUND had yesterday commenced a pilot phase of the tokenised payment system designed to prevent beneficiaries from paying their tuition fees twice and eliminate complications associated with refunds.

The new system means sudents will be able to initiate payments directly to their institutions using tokens linked to their respective schools, rather than receiving the loan funds in their personal bank accounts.

Responding to the new development, the public relations officer of NANS, Comrade Obidah David, said the initiative is a step towards strengthening transparency, accountability and efficiency in the administration of student loans.

He said, “The introduction of the Token Payment System by NELFUND is a commendable and forward-looking innovation that reflects a growing commitment to transparency, accountability and efficiency in the administration of student loan disbursements.

“From our perspective, this initiative addresses some of the persistent challenges associated with tuition fee payments and represents an important step towards strengthening the integrity of the student loan scheme.”

He however, said the new system would improve transaction tracking and ensure that funds disbursed for tuition were properly accounted for.

“One of the most significant advantages of the system is its potential to eliminate duplicate payments, improve transaction tracking and ensure that funds disbursed for students’ tuition are properly accounted for. Beyond simplifying the payment process, the innovation introduces a more verifiable framework for monitoring the movement of funds from disbursement to the confirmation of school fee payments,” he stated.

The NANS spokesman noted that students had, over time, encountered difficulties arising from delays in the reconciliation and confirmation of tuition payments by some institutional managements, even after NELFUND had disbursed the required funds.

According to him, such administrative lapses could leave students struggling to access examinations, register for courses or complete other essential academic processes despite having their tuition obligations covered by the fund.

David expressed optimism that the tokenised payment arrangement would make it easier to verify payments and reduce discrepancies between NELFUND’s disbursement records and the financial records maintained by tertiary institutions.

However, he urged university managements and other tertiary institutions to cooperate fully with the fund to ensure that payments were promptly reconciled and reflected on students’ portals.

“If properly implemented, the Token Payment System could significantly reduce these challenges by establishing a more transparent and traceable process through which payments can be verified and reconciled. Most importantly, it could strengthen the ability of students to demonstrate that their tuition has been paid, thereby reducing their exposure to administrative failures beyond their control,” he said.

On whether the new system would make school fee payments easier for students, David said it had considerable potential to simplify the process, provided NELFUND ensured effective implementation and institutions cooperated with the arrangement.