NELFUND to Launch Parents’ Portal for Checking School Fee Payments

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is planning to introduce an online portal that will allow parents to verify whether their children’s tuition fees have been paid through the government’s student loan scheme.

The proposed platform is part of efforts to improve transparency and prevent situations in which students receive loan support for tuition but continue collecting money from their parents for the same fees.

NELFUND Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, announced the planned initiative during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

According to reports, parents will be able to enter their children’s matriculation numbers on the platform to check whether their school fees have been paid or remain outstanding.

The portal is expected to show the payment status without disclosing the amount paid or other sensitive financial information.

NELFUND Targets Duplicate Tuition Payments

Sawyerr said the proposed portal responds to concerns that some students whose tuition fees have already been covered by NELFUND continue to request school-fee money from their parents without disclosing their funding status.

The fund described the practice as “double-dipping” and said it was working to strengthen accountability in the administration of the student loan programme.

The initiative is intended to help parents confirm whether tuition has already been settled before making additional payments.

However, the proposed measures are not a blanket ban on students applying for government-backed loans simply because their parents can afford to pay their fees. The focus is on preventing duplicate funding for the same tuition expenses.

NELFUND Introduces Digital Wallet for Tuition Payments

Alongside the parents’ verification portal, NELFUND is developing a digital wallet system that will allow eligible students to authorise tuition payments directly to their institutions.

Under the proposed arrangement, approved tuition funds will be linked to the student’s designated institution through a restricted digital payment mechanism.

Rather than receiving tuition funds as cash or having them transferred into their personal bank accounts, beneficiaries will be able to authorise payments to their schools through the system.

Each payment token is intended to be linked to a specific institution, helping ensure that the funds are used for their approved purpose.

NELFUND says the system is designed to reduce the risk of funds being diverted and address problems caused by duplicate tuition payments.

Why NELFUND Is Changing Its Payment System

The fund’s payment reforms also aim to address situations in which students independently pay their school fees because they have not received confirmation that NELFUND has already settled the bill.

When students and institutions do not receive timely payment updates, beneficiaries may pay fees a second time and subsequently face difficulties obtaining refunds.

The proposed digital wallet arrangement is intended to give students greater control over authorising payments while improving communication between the fund, beneficiaries and tertiary institutions.

NELFUND Executive Director, Mustapha Iyal, said the wallet-based payment system was undergoing pilot implementation, with more than 400,000 applications in the system at the time of the briefing.

The fund is also planning educational workshops across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones to familiarise students, parents and tertiary institutions with the revised procedures.

When Will the New NELFUND System Begin?

The upgraded payment arrangement is expected to take effect in the 2026/2027 academic session.

The planned changes form part of wider efforts to improve the management of Nigeria’s government-backed student loan programme and strengthen transparency in tuition payments.

The parents’ portal is expected to help families establish whether school fees have been paid, while the digital wallet system is designed to ensure that approved tuition funds reach the appropriate institutions.

For students, parents and schools, the effectiveness of the changes will depend on reliable payment records, timely notifications and clear communication about the status of each transaction.

Source: NELFUND briefing in Abuja, as reported by Pulse Nigeria and The Guardian on October 28–29, 2026.

Editorial note: The parents’ portal and revised payment arrangement were reported as planned initiatives. Readers should consult official NELFUND announcements for confirmation of launch dates and access instructions.