The Nigerian Training Mortgage Fund (NELFUND) has defined the explanations behind the noticed disparities within the fee of scholars’ maintenance allowances beneath the brand new scheme.
In an interview with the Information Company of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, NELFUND Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr attributed the disparities to the timing of purposes, institutional processes, and the evolving nature of the initiative.
The NELFUND boss acknowledged that, whereas the Fund had acquired a number of complaints from college students relating to delayed stipends, most of the points arose from procedural and timing variations throughout establishments.
“It’s not attainable to have this type of scheme with out having a grievance someplace. We obtain complaints daily right here, about one factor or the opposite.
“After we analyse the complaints, a few of them are our fault, a few of them should not our fault.
“Some college students will inform you that they’ve been ready for his or her stipend, they haven’t gotten it.
“If you requested, how lengthy have you ever been ready, when did you apply? They are going to say, final yr.
“After we take a look at the books, nonetheless, we’ll uncover that they solely utilized the earlier week.
“In relation to cash, folks need to see how briskly they’ll get it,” he mentioned.
He additional defined that college students’ various educational calendars and utility timelines had made synchronisation of maintenance funds complicated.
“This can be a comparatively new scheme. This isn’t a scheme that has been working for 10 years or 20 years, the place you may say, Okay, we’ve got these folks that we’re paying.
“Keep in mind that we’re coping with college students who’re making use of at totally different instances, who’re at establishments with totally different timetables, who’re at totally different phases, by way of the place they’re of their periods.
“The complexity of begin date, finish date, as folks graduate, periods shut, a brand new session begins, just isn’t small,” he said.
Mr Sawyerr, nonetheless, mentioned that the Fund wouldn’t make retrospective funds to keep away from instances of double disbursement.
In line with him, to keep away from double funds, as soon as college students apply for a brand new session they usually start the processing, they may cease funds for the earlier session, no matter what number of months’ stipend they’ve acquired.
He admitted, nonetheless, that many college students misunderstood the method as a result of it had not been clearly defined earlier than.
“The reality about it’s that we’re coping with many alternative date factors on this enterprise.
“A session is mostly 12 months. 9 of the 12 months is the interval that individuals are truly in colleges.
“If a scholar applies for the mortgage in time, possibly, based mostly on the varsity calendar and it’s accredited, and we begin disbursement firstly of the session, the scholar might obtain 12 months maintenance stipend.
“If one other scholar applies, possibly in the midst of the session, such scholar will solely obtain what’s left, which is perhaps six months or so.
“We won’t pay folks backwards. As soon as college students apply for the brand new session, they may begin receiving their month-to-month stipends from the month it’s accredited until the top of the session.
When you apply for an additional new session, let’s say, 2025/2026, and we begin processing it, we’ll cease fee for the earlier session of 2024/2025.
“If we don’t deal with the method like this, we’ll discover ourselves in a state of affairs the place we’re paying folks double,” he clarified.
On the difficulty of refunding extra charges, the NELFUND chief mentioned the Fund had been encouraging establishments to return extra funds, the place each college students and the Fund had paid for a similar session.
In line with him, when college students apply for the mortgage, it takes a while to course of as a result of they’ve to hold out due diligence.
“A part of that due diligence is that the establishments need to confirm and make sure to us that the individuals who utilized for the mortgage and whose names have been forwarded to them are their college students,
“They need to additionally confirm the approvals and ship them again to us.
“These processes are time-consuming, however they’re value finishing up.
“By the point the affirmation has been carried out, and we’re by with our ultimate checks and disburse the funds to the establishments on behalf of the scholars, typically, it may not meet the deadline set by the varsity, and the scholars may need paid
“Sadly, all we will do is to encourage the faculties to refund to the scholars the cash they paid to the varsity.
“We can’t power the cash out of the faculties, however we’re encouraging the faculties to make a refund,” he mentioned.
He, nonetheless, disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Training would quickly take a firmer stance to make sure establishments refund such extra funds timeously, slightly than carrying them over into a brand new educational yr.
Addressing stories of colleges inflating tuition charges, the NELFUND head clarified that establishments themselves enter the official payment constructions into the scholar verification system.
“Aside from all the opposite data that we requested for, the faculties, on our scholar verification system, present us with the charges for every course.
“If the payment is N80,000, they load it there as N80,000. If the payment for an additional course is N200,000, they may load it on our system as N200,000.
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“When a scholar applies for the mortgage, they’ll see what quantity is uploaded on their portal.
“Whether it is greater than what it must be, they’ll problem it, and say, ‘My course is N180,000, however on the portal, I noticed it as N200,000.’
“They’ve at all times been in a position to problem that course of,” he defined.
Mr Sawyerr recalled that due to preliminary hitches when the programme began, some colleges failed to supply well timed knowledge, and the Fund improvised, however it had since been resolved and corrected.
“We put in some arbitrary figures, in order that the system might work and the scholars might apply for the mortgage.
“Then, retrospectively, we went and adjusted the figures to the precise ones,” he mentioned.
He assured steady enchancment within the system to nip hitches and discrepancies within the bud and improve transparency of the method.
