NELFUND Pilots School-Locked Token That Puts Fee Approval in Students' Hands
Key Takeaways
- •NELFUND has started piloting a token system that allows students to approve their own school fee payments through a mobile app, with funds routed directly and exclusively to their institution.
- •Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr unveiled the pilot at a Wednesday press briefing, where he also disclosed that the fund has received close to 400,000 applications.
- •The system was introduced to stop duplicate fee payments, which arose because students were not informed quickly enough that NELFUND had already settled their charges, forcing schools to issue refunds.
- •The token functions only as a payment approval tied to a single institution and covers school fees alone; upkeep allowances will continue to be deposited into students' bank accounts unchanged.
- •The loan scheme provides interest-free financing under legislation signed by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024, but NELFUND has yet to set a date for expanding the token beyond the pilot phase.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has begun piloting a school-locked token that allows students to approve their own fee payments. Because the token is valid for a single institution only, the money is routed directly to the school and never reaches the student.
NELFUND Managing Director Akintunde Sawyerr announced the pilot at a press briefing on Wednesday, where he said the fund has received nearly 400,000 applications to date.
According to the fund, the change is designed to prevent students from paying fees that NELFUND has already settled. It found that students were not being notified quickly enough when their fees had been covered, leading some to pay a second time.
Sawyerr illustrated the problem with an example: NELFUND pays a school on Monday, the student pays the same fees by Wednesday, and only learns of the earlier payment on Friday. He described such cases as honest mistakes, noting that the school must then refund the student.
How the token works
Students approve payments through a mobile app, and the funds go straight to their school. The token cannot be sent to a personal account or to another institution. If a student has an approved payment of ₦200,000, for instance, it can only be directed to their school's account; if the student does not approve it, the money remains where it is.
"We're not giving the students money, but we're giving them power," Sawyerr said.
The fund stressed that the token is not a personal or mobile money wallet, but rather a payment approval tied to a specific institution. That structure gives students the final say over when an approved payment is released to their school, while the funds themselves never pass through their hands.
The token applies to school fees only. Under NELFUND's current process, approved institutional charges are paid directly to schools, while approved upkeep allowances are deposited into students' bank accounts. The token does not change how upkeep payments are handled.
The scheme provides eligible students with interest-free loans under a law signed by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024. The pilot is already underway, though NELFUND has not announced a timeline for a full rollout, leaving it unclear when the token-based approval process will move beyond the pilot stage.
Source: TechNext24
