The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has raised alarm over sharp increases in tuition fees across several higher institutions, warning that the trend could threaten the sustainability of its student loan programme.
An internal report by the Fund, seen by The Guardian, showed that some universities and polytechnics have hiked their fees by between 20 and 521 per cent, with Kogi State Polytechnic recording an increase of over 1,000 per cent.
Institutions identified in the report include the University of Ilesha, Ekiti State University, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Edo State University, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), and David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Ebonyi. The sharpest rises were recorded in professional courses such as Medicine, Nursing, and Law.
At Edo State University, tuition for Medicine and Surgery reportedly rose from about ₦750,000 to ₦950,000 per session, while medical students at UNIMED now pay over ₦1 million annually. LAUTECH’s Law programme increased by about 20 per cent, and fees at DUFUHS climbed by more than 40 per cent.
NELFUND warned that the sudden hikes could exclude many low-income students from tertiary education and disrupt its operational forecasts, as loan allocations were based on earlier tuition benchmarks. The Fund said the development could also increase the risk of loan defaults.
The report urged the Federal Ministry of Education and state governments to intervene and called for collaboration with regulatory agencies to standardise tuition adjustments across public institutions.
Education unions and student bodies have also expressed concern that rising fees could worsen dropout rates, undermining the objectives of the Education Loan Act.
NELFUND reaffirmed its commitment to keeping education accessible but cautioned that “unchecked fee hikes are incompatible with the spirit of educational equity the Fund represents.”
