The National Orientation Agency (NOA) says recent findings showed tertiary institutions were conspiring with banks to shortchange student loan applicants.

The director-general of the NOA, Lanre Issa-Onilu, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday after a meeting with the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) managing director Akintunde Sawyerr.

“Recent investigations into the disbursement of the federal government Student Loan Fund have uncovered several unethical practices by some institutions of higher learning,” Mr Issa-Onilu said in the statement signed by NOA’s spokesperson Paul Odenyi.

He said this followed the agency’s Community Orientation and Mobilisation Officers (COMO) report that the institution officials withheld information about the loan disbursement.

“Initial reports indicated that certain university officials have been withholding vital information regarding loan disbursements, prompting immediate action from NELFUND.

“The NOA’s feedback shows how specific institutions have, in connivance with some banks, deliberately delayed payments to successful student applicants for personal financial benefit. Some universities fail to acknowledge the NELFUND’s disbursements to the students,” he said.

Mr Issa-Onilu condemned such practices and warned universities and banks involved to desist from such practices.

The NOA DG instructed state directorates to gather feedback from students nationwide on the loan disbursement. He said this was to ensure necessary steps were taken against the institutions and banks.

Mr Sawyerr, NELFUND’s managing director, also confirmed that the fund discovered that some institutions that institutions received funds for student loans but failed to inform the applicants of the payment.

“Recent findings by NELFUND have shown that some institutions have received student loan disbursements directly into their accounts yet neglect to inform the affected students or record the payments in their financial records, leading to unnecessary confusion,” he said.

Mr Sawyerr, who maintained that such “unethical” practices violated the principles of NELFUND, vowed that the fund would take legal actions against erring banks and institutions.

“Withholding critical financial information from students is not only unethical but also a breach of the principles on which NELFUND was founded. We are prepared to take legal action against any institution engaged in such deceptive practices,” Mr Sawyerr stated.