CALABAR, CROSS RIVER– The management of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) under the management of Prof. Offiong E. Offiong has actually lastly bowed to serious pressure by introducing an online website to reimburse institutional costs to students under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme.
However, what was meant to be a success for the trainee body has rapidly liquified into prevalent anger following the management’s introduction of a mandatory 5,000 processing fee to access the refunds.
The choice affects students from the 2023/2024, 2024/2025, and present 2025/2026 scholastic sessions.
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For years, the organization had postponed returning excess school charges to beneficiaries whose tuition fees were paid twice, once out-of-pocket by moms and dads and consequently by NELFUND’s direct bank disbursements.
Screenshot from among the organization’s trainees’online neighborhoods on Facebook Social Media Project Forces Management’s Hand The policy shift comes after an extreme, multi-week social networks project led by affected undergrads and current UNICAL graduates.
Entrusted countless naira in unrefunded balances, the frustrated youths took to numerous digital platforms to accuse the university administration of purposefully keeping their funds.
Behind the scenes, the structural structure for the administration of the fund had actually been moving. Under the auspices of the 11th substantive Vice-Chancellor, Teacher Florence Banku Obi, the university had actually approved the visit of Mrs Elizabeth Otu Effiwatt as the brand-new UNICAL NELFUND Desk Officer, taking effect on January 14, 2025. Following that consultation, on January 22, 2025, a strategic stakeholders’ conference was convened at the workplace of Professor Anthony Eyang, the erstwhile Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics).
The conference, which brought together trainee union leaders and NELFUND administrators, at first mandated that impacted trainees need to manually send their account information at the physical desk office for processing.
< img data-src=" https://edugist.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/NELFUND.jpg "alt="UNICAL opens NELFUND refund portal, stimulates outrage over processing fee"width="910"height="325" src="
image/svg+xml; base64, PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==”/ > A cross-section of trainees associates, NELFUND administrators and the erstwhile DVC Academics, Prof. Anthony Eyang Digital Portal Triggered with a Costly Catch In an unanticipated twist on Monday, June 8, 2026, the university administration officially bypassed the manual application path by activating a digital 
refund website. The kind the student filled and sent at the NELFUND desk workplace in January, 2025 While the automation was welcomed, students logging into the system were surprised to discover that they should pay a non-refundable 5,000 levy before their refund application can be evaluated or sent. Screenshot from the portal
refund website. The kind the student filled and sent at the NELFUND desk workplace in January, 2025 While the automation was welcomed, students logging into the system were surprised to discover that they should pay a non-refundable 5,000 levy before their refund application can be evaluated or sent. Screenshot from the portal
The financial requirement has sparked an intense dispute throughout the school, with students questioning the logic of paying a surcharge to recover a loan that they will eventually be lawfully required to pay back to the Federal Government with interest.
The trainee community and most particularly victims of this outrageous charge have actually knocked the processing charge as predatory and exploitative, arguing that it positions an unnecessary monetary obstacle before having a hard time trainees and cash-strapped graduates.
The university management has yet to launch an official counter-statement protecting the administrative levy.
With the Trainee Union Government currently under intense pressure from the trainee body to decline the portal’s terms, a fresh standoff looms between the trainee populace and Teacher Offiong E. Offiong if the questionable charge is not evaluated downward or scrapped completely.
ABOUT NELFUND
Student Loan Effort is a flagship effort supervised by Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Federal Ministry of Education.
Its primary function is provide assistance and resources to Tertiary trainees through financial, technical and capacity-building interventions.
The programme operates through a plainly defined application process that includes online registration, confirmation and tracking components. Applicants are normally required to provide digital paperwork, meet eligibility requirements set by the administering firm, and adhere to reporting and payment standards where relevant.
The programme’s style stresses transparency, measurable outcomes and linkage to other support services such as training, market gain access to and technical assistance.
Beneficiaries usually gain access to financial or technical inputs, and the scheme consists of tracking and evaluation systems to measure impact and ensure funds reach intended recipients.
The effort is frequently complemented by partner organizations and economic sector stars to scale impact.