By Christiana Uka
The University of Calabar (UNICAL) has dismissed claims by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) that it has failed to refund students who paid their tuition fees before receiving disbursements from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
NANS had listed UNICAL among 39 tertiary institutions it alleged were yet to refund affected students. The university, however, said the claim was not true, explaining that refunds have been ongoing.
Speaking on the issue, the University’s NELFUND Desk Officer, Mrs. Elizabeth Otu Effiwatt, through the institution’s Public Relations Unit, said the school has already refunded 1,089 students in nine batches and is processing more applications.
According to her, more than 3,000 students have benefited from the NELFUND scheme, while the university has received a total of N979,891,400 for 10,071 students across various departments.
The Desk Officer explained that the 1,089 students who have been refunded were those who paid their school fees before receiving their NELFUND loans. She added that the university is still processing refunds for other eligible students who have submitted their applications.
Mrs. Effiwatt further disclosed that the university has introduced an automated refund portal through its Directorate of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to replace the earlier manual process.
According to her, the portal was developed based on the challenges experienced during the manual refund process. She explained that the new system includes validation measures to ensure that only eligible applicants are refunded while promoting transparency, accountability and efficiency.
She also revealed that 2,090 refund applications have already been received through the new portal and will be processed, describing the development as evidence of the effectiveness of the digital system.
Mrs. Effiwatt urged students and other stakeholders to disregard reports suggesting that the University of Calabar has not been refunding NELFUND beneficiaries. She reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to ensuring that every eligible student receives a refund.
Short Link:
Leave feedback about this