NOA Exposes How Schools and Banks Are Shortchanging Students on Federal Loans
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has revealed troubling details about how some Nigerian tertiary institutions and banks are allegedly working together to deny students access to their approved federal student loans.
According to the latest findings by NOA’s Community Orientation and Mobilisation Officers (COMO), both schools and banks are deliberately delaying the disbursement of funds to qualified students for personal gain. The update follows a meeting between NOA Director General Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu and Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Investigations found that many university officials have been hiding key details about the loans from students. In some cases, even after the funds have been released by NELFUND, schools fail to reflect them in their records or notify the recipients. This misconduct has caused confusion and financial stress for many students who believed they hadn’t received their loans.
Mr. Sawyerr said, “Some institutions have received student loan disbursements directly into their accounts yet neglect to inform the affected students or record the payments. This has led to unnecessary confusion and is unethical.”
He added that this action goes against the values on which NELFUND was established and vowed that legal steps will be taken against any school or bank involved in such fraudulent activities.
The NOA has also issued a strong warning to these institutions and their collaborating financial institutions. Mallam Issa-Onilu stated that this dishonest behaviour must stop immediately and tasked all NOA state directorates to continue gathering information directly from students to help the Federal Government take swift action.
As the scandal unfolds, there is growing pressure on the government and relevant agencies to ensure full transparency and accountability in the student loan process. The aim of the loan program is to support education, not to be manipulated by institutions for personal or institutional gain.
Students are being advised to speak up if they suspect any irregularities regarding their loan disbursements, as both NOA and NELFUND are now closely monitoring the situation.
