Guarding Access: Making Nigeria’s Student Loan Revolution Work for All

By Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, DBA, Ed.D

When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the re-enacted Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) Act in April 2024, he did more than launch another public scheme—he opened a new chapter in Nigeria’s quest for inclusive, merit-based education.

For the first time, every qualified student in a federal or state institution could access an interest-free, income-linked loan to pay tuition and maintenance costs, with repayment beginning only two years after national service and tied to verified employment.
That is a bold social-investment decision—and a clear demonstration that this government is putting its money where its policy mouth is.

Today, NELFUND represents a major policy shift toward equity in higher education. The loan’s design, governance structure, and technology platform reflect global best practice. It recognises that education is not a privilege but a right—and that no Nigerian child should be denied a future for lack of tuition fees.
Already, the fund has processed applications from hundreds of thousands of students and disbursed billions of naira directly to institutions. That is a remarkable start for a reform less than a year old.

Yet, the optimism surrounding NELFUND faces a new challenge: tuition inflation.
Barely months after its launch, several universities and polytechnics announced sharp fee increases—some as high as 200 to 500 percent. Such arbitrary hikes threaten to erode the affordability that the loan scheme was meant to secure.

This is not unique to Nigeria. In countries that expanded student-loan access without regulating tuition, universities often raised prices to capture the new liquidity.
In contrast, nations that paired loans with tuition-cap frameworks—such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Africa—sustained affordability while allowing universities to plan responsibly.

So, how should Nigeria respond?

1. Tie NELFUND Participation to a “Fair-Fees Compact”

The Federal Government and NELFUND Board should require every participating institution to sign a Fair-Fees Compact.
This compact would commit universities to:
• Publish a detailed annual fee schedule with transparent justification.
• Keep increases within a Consumer Price Index-linked band, except where cost audits prove extraordinary expenditure (for example, laboratory or clinical programmes).
• Guarantee that students admitted under a session enjoy fee stability for the duration of their programme.
• Submit audited accounts showing how tuition revenue is applied.

Non-compliant institutions should face suspension from NELFUND tuition routing or lose eligibility in subsequent sessions. Transparency and consequences are the surest deterrents to abuse.

2. Establish a Joint “Fee & Funding Oversight Panel”

The Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission, NELFUND, and state governments should jointly create a Fee & Funding Oversight Panel.
This body would benchmark programme-specific cost bands—for classroom-based, laboratory, and clinical disciplines—and vet any proposed fee adjustments above the inflation cap.
Such coordination will promote fairness while protecting academic quality. South Africa’s recent policy on university fee regulation offers a tested template that Nigeria can adapt.

3. Introduce a Smart Tuition-Ceiling Framework

Rather than a rigid, one-size-fits-all freeze, government should adopt a cap-and-index model.
Each discipline would have a base cap that can rise annually in line with inflation, ensuring predictability for parents and sustainability for universities.
Any institution wishing to exceed this band must present a justification—energy costs, equipment imports, or wage adjustments—to the Oversight Panel for approval.

This policy discipline matters. Nigeria’s inflation rate, though declining from its 2024 peak, remains in double digits. A CPI-linked cap would thus protect affordability while acknowledging real operational costs.

4. Link NELFUND Eligibility to Institutional Compliance

Access to the loan fund should be conditional. Only institutions that respect the Fair-Fees Compact, publish transparent accounts, and maintain approved tuition levels should qualify for NELFUND payments.
This mirrors the United Kingdom’s approach, where public loan eligibility is contingent on adherence to the national tuition-fee framework.

Graduated sanctions will ensure fairness: a first breach triggers a warning and corrective plan; repeat breaches attract suspension of new disbursements; chronic defaulters lose access entirely.
Where genuine cost pressures exist—especially in state universities serving low-income communities—TETFund or NELFUND can provide targeted bridging grants, conditional on maintaining reasonable fees.

5. Strengthen Data Transparency

NELFUND should publish an open Fees & Disbursement Dashboard, showing each institution’s approved tuition, average loan amount, and number of beneficiaries.
This form of public accountability will empower students, journalists, and civil-society monitors to detect anomalies early. The success of any social programme depends on the trust it commands, and transparency builds that trust.

6. Broaden Support Beyond Loans

Finally, while NELFUND is revolutionary, loans alone cannot guarantee inclusion.
Nigeria must complement it with targeted bursaries and scholarships for students from the poorest households or studying priority disciplines such as teaching, healthcare, and engineering.
Ghana’s model—where the Student Loans Trust Fund coexists with merit and hardship bursaries—shows that a blended approach can deepen impact.

Conclusion

The Tinubu administration deserves credit for reimagining student finance in Nigeria. NELFUND is already making higher education a realistic goal for thousands who once thought it unreachable.
But to secure this legacy, government must now guard against tuition shock.
A Fair-Fees Compact, CPI-linked caps, compliance-based eligibility, and radical transparency will ensure that universities do not convert opportunity into burden.

Education remains the single most powerful equaliser of opportunity.
President Tinubu’s reforms have set the foundation; policymakers and university leaders must now preserve the spirit of equity that inspired them.
If we get this right, Nigeria will not only educate its youth—it will empower a generation to build the future this nation deserves.

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Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, DBA, Ed.D
Is an implementation of public policy specialist, the 1st Deputy President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and an Adjunct Professor at the Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja.