NELFUND Plans Token-Based Tuition Payments in Nigeria

In Short

NELFUND plans to stop paying tuition directly to tertiary institutions.

Instead, it wants to use a digital token system so students can trigger tuition payments from their phones.

The goal is to reduce double payments and improve transparency.

What Happened

Nigeria’s Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, says it is planning an upgrade that replaces direct school payments with token-based tuition payments.

In the proposed setup, a student receives tuition funds as a “token” on their mobile phone. A token is a digital voucher, similar to airtime, that can only be used for a specific purpose.

When the student gets to the school bursary, they can confirm payment and complete it on the spot. NELFUND’s managing director, Akintunde Sawyerr, said this would give students more control over timing while keeping tuition funds restricted to education.

NELFUND said it avoided paying tuition loans into students’ personal bank accounts because the money could be diverted to non-school spending. Under the current scheme, tuition is paid to institutions through a controlled process, while upkeep stipends go directly to students.

The planned change follows complaints from students about double payments. In some cases, students paid tuition to meet registration or exam deadlines, then NELFUND later sent tuition funds to the same institution after processing delays.

Why It Matters

If NELFUND executes the token system well, it could reduce reconciliation issues for bursaries and lower the risk of students being locked out of classes due to payment timing.

It also signals a broader shift in Nigeria’s public sector toward more programmable payments, meaning funds that can be spent only on approved uses.

But implementation details will matter, including whether the token works on basic phones, offline scenarios, and how schools integrate it into existing fee payment workflows.