The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has backed the introduction of the token payment system by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), urging tertiary institutions to promptly reconcile tuition payments to prevent students from being denied access to examinations and other academic services.
NELFUND commenced the pilot phase of the tokenised payment system on Wednesday to prevent beneficiaries from paying tuition fees twice and eliminate complications associated with refunds.
Under the new arrangement, students can initiate tuition payments directly to their institutions using tokens linked to their respective schools, rather than receiving the loan funds in their personal bank accounts.
Reacting to the development, the Public Relations Officer of NANS, Comrade Obidah David, described the initiative as a step towards strengthening transparency, accountability and efficiency in the administration of student loans.
He said the system would address persistent challenges associated with tuition payments while improving the integrity of the student loan scheme.
According to him, the arrangement could eliminate duplicate payments, improve transaction tracking and ensure that funds disbursed for 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 said.
David, however, noted that students had encountered difficulties arising from delays in the reconciliation and confirmation of tuition payments by some tertiary institutions, even after NELFUND had disbursed the required funds.
He said such administrative lapses could prevent students from accessing examinations, registering for courses or completing other essential academic processes despite having their tuition obligations covered by the fund.
The NANS spokesman expressed optimism that the tokenised payment arrangement would make payments easier to verify and reduce discrepancies between NELFUND’s disbursement records and the financial records maintained by tertiary institutions.
He urged university managements and other tertiary institutions to cooperate fully with NELFUND 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,” David said.
He added that the system could help protect students from administrative failures beyond their control by strengthening their ability to demonstrate that their tuition fees had been paid.
On whether the new arrangement would make tuition payments easier, David said it had considerable potential to simplify the process, provided NELFUND ensured effective implementation and institutions cooperated with the system.