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The Deputy National Youth Organizer of the Democratic National Congress (NDC), Edem Agbana, says her party will increase the Student Loan Trust Fund by 100% and reintroduce the Student Loan Trust Fund Plus.
Speaking at the Joy News Joint Caucus, Agbana stated that this has become necessary because her party, in drafting its manifesto, realized that the amount disbursed to loan applicants was inadequate to meet the needs of students.
“We have captured it much more. We have said that we will increase the student loan by 100% because we have seen, and when you talk to the beneficiaries, not even the loan is enough, so we increased it. “
He also added that although the NDC and the NPP had proposed eliminating the guarantor system in their manifests, the NPP did not solve the most salient problem, which is the disbursement of the loan.
But do you know the problem? The problem is that this government has a lousy record with loan disbursement and it can be checked … As we speak, the 2019/2020 academic year has ended more than 10,000 student loan recipients have not received their loans and it can be checked from the SLTF “, said.
On top of that, Edem said that the NDC will reintroduce the “Student Loan Trust Fund more than President Mahama introduced in the 2015/2016 academic year but the PNP government was unable to continue.”
According to him, the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) Plus, when reintroduced, will allow students who are not up to date with their universities, that is, students who have not been able to pay their school fees and other fees, the opportunity to do so using the line of credit.
On the guarantor system, Mr. Agbana believes that the challenge with the current student loan system will not be solved simply by eliminating the requirement of a guarantor by an applicant, as proposed by the NPP.
This, he said, is because the inequality gap will continue to widen as students from disadvantaged households who cannot pay their fees cannot access loan service.
“We are thinking of that child, that child in Ghana who does not have what it takes to pay his school fees to be a reputable student before accessing the loan.
“So that means you can even delete [the] guarantor, but if the person cannot pay the fees and is not up to date in college, they cannot access the loan.
By introducing the SLTF Plus, the NDC will ensure that students who gain admission to college and are unable to pay their school fees to stay current on the student loan can still access the loan service.
“So we have said that the student loan trust fund plus, what it does is that as long as you receive your admission letter, even when you have no money to pay your fees and you are up to date before you even think about getting a guarantor or not, You can apply to the student loan trust fund, obtain the SLTFplus form and they give you a loan that can even help you pay a part of your fees and that is the solution to the problem, ”Agbana explained.
