The Sunday News
Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
THE Government has come up with a funding mechanism to be accessed by students in tertiary institutions struggling to provide collateral demanded by financial institutions offering educational loans.
Tertiary students have previously indicated that they were failing to access student loans as they did not have collateral demanded by financial institutions. In an interview with Sunday News, Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira said the Government has allocated his Ministry more than $8 million to assist the students when accessing the loan facility.
“We have been allocated by the Treasury something in excess of $8 million to make sure that we use it as a guarantee mechanism for our students. Financial institutions have been demanding proof in the form of pay slips from students as collateral but most students could not provide them.
“So we came up with a funding mechanism for students who might not be able to provide enough guarantee, we will then advance certain amounts as a guarantee to the bank so that they don’t discard some of our students’ proposals. It’s quite a good thing that was done by Treasury, we are grateful and we are looking forward to the activation of the budget beginning of February. We aim to boost the numbers of students who are needy, who might need to have the student loan,” said Prof Murwira.
He said with the new mechanism in place, the number of students accessing the student loans was expected to rise compared to last year.
“What is interesting is that it was about 10 000 students by end of last year that benefited from the student loan. This year we are going to work on the funding mechanism to guarantee those students without pay slips and we will make it more attractive for banks to give students the loans.
“As students go back to their institutions of higher learning, it will be easier for them to apply for the loan facility. Universities have not yet opened we are yet to determine the uptake this year and that is when we will come up with figures,” he said.
Prof Murwira also urged students in need of students’ loans to apply as Government was working tirelessly to make sure it was cheap and affordable.
“From a policy point of view we want students’ loans to be cheaper and affordable. We will try to pursue every mechanism to make sure that the loans are affordable to our students. For example, Edu-loan is also working. There are so many students who are using it to make sure that they pay their fees so that they attend all their lectures and write exams with others on time,” said Prof Murwira.
Currently students were accessing the educational loan facility availed by the ministry and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe at ZB, NMB, POSB, CBZ, Edu-loans and GetBucks financing institutions but the minister urged interested banks to also take part.
“All banks that are interested in issuing the loans to students are not barred to do so. What we are trying to work around is the conditions of lending so that more students can take up the loan facility otherwise money is available. When we now have the guarantee fund it’s a step forward. If you look in the blue book you find that the money is catered for,” he said.
Last year, President Mnangagwa officially launched three inter-linked programmes namely the Student Loan, Infrastructure Development and Information Communication Technology Facilities set to transform the country’s tertiary education sector.
