Tarka Varsity Assures Students Of NELFUND Refunds, Fixes April 7 Resumption

The Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi (JoSTUM) has assured students of transparency in the handling and refund of Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) payments.

The University also confirmed that academic activities will resume on 7 April following the Easter break.

This follows a recent protest by students of the institution, which prompted the Committee of Deans and Directors to urgently review the situation on behalf of the Senate.

The review led to the directive that students proceed on Easter break from 23 March to 7 April and vacate hostels by 6:00 pm on that day.

The Registrar of the University, Dr John U. David, in a press statement yesterday, said a series of meetings was subsequently held between management and key stakeholders to address concerns regarding NELFUND payments and the creation of an e-wallet platform for beneficiaries.

He said the meetings involved principal officers of the university, including the Dean of Students, Dean of Postgraduate School, Director of ICT and the Acting Chief Security Officer, alongside student representatives such as leaders of the National Union of Benue State Students, the Tiv Students community, the Students’ Union Executive and the Students’ Parliament.

“The Management is to confirm total funds received from NELFUND for 2024/2025 and 2025/2026, and total funds disbursed to the beneficiaries for the two sessions, i.e. ICT to report what came in and for which session, while Bursary to report what was refunded and for what session(s).

“Time frame to sort out all related issues is by Thursday (2nd April, 2026) to enable all students to complete their registration before returning and commencement of examinations for the first semester 2025/2026 session.

“Benefiting student(s) whose e-wallet is/are yet to be activated on their portal should personally approach ICT for guidance or redress. The Director of ICT was mandated to do a video to guide students on the operations of the e-wallet. ICT to sieve out names of graduates from the list of beneficiaries so as not to short-change JoSTUM undergraduates in benefiting from the scheme,” he said.

Also, a deadline of Thursday, 2 April 2026, has been set to resolve all outstanding issues, enabling students to complete registration before the commencement of first-semester examinations for the 2025/2026 academic session.

He said students whose e-wallets have not yet been activated have been advised to approach the ICT Directorate for assistance.

“The Management gave assurance that only refunded funds to students will reflect on their dashboards/portal as loanable funds, as against any excess for repayment by the beneficiaries,” he said.

The Registrar also urged student leaders to communicate the resolutions to the wider student body to ensure smooth resumption and participation in scheduled examinations.

On the issue of online conduct, he cautioned against the reckless use of social media to de-market the institution. Student leaders, in response, pledged to desist from unauthorised statements and to engage established communication channels to address grievances