720 more to benefit from student loans recovery
The Higher Education Students’ Loans Board has said about 720 additional needy students are set to benefit from the K400 million it has recovered from former beneficiaries of the university loan scheme.
The board’s executive director Chris Chisoni said they have recovered about K400 million from former beneficiaries who got the loans while studying in public universities.
He said: “It is our plea to former students to pay back the loan and this will help us to diversify and improve our resource base. This will improve the outreach of students’ loans. Every year there are more students applying for the loan, so we need to improve the loans we grant to students. This year we are targeting to assist over 720 additional students through the loans we have recovered.”
Chisoni attributed the improvement in loan recovery to cooperation from employers in both the public and private sectors.
Commenting on the development, Civil Society Education Coalition executive director Benedicto Kondowe commended the board for deciding to assist additional needy students.
According to Chisoni, in 2015/16 academic year, out of 10 550 applicants for student loans, 4 652 benefited while in 2016/17, out 12 300 students 7 652 were assisted and in 2017/18 academic year, 9 432 benefited out of 12 340 applicants.
