The President of the National Union of Ghana Students, Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo has urged government to ensure that the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) is adequately resourced to enable it to disburse student loans to beneficiaries in a timely manner.
He was speaking at the launch of the SLTF’s “No Guarantor” policy at the KNUST on Wednesday.
He said that delays in the disbursement of loans to students cause untold hardships to beneficiaries which adversely affects their academic performance.
Mr Larbi-Ampofo urged the Ministry of Education and Finance to ensure that GeTFund releases funding to the SLTF in a speedy manner.
“On behalf of the ten million students in Ghana, I would like to extend my appreciation to government for the implementation of this landmark policy” he said.
He further urged government to consider increasing the loan amount since the maximum amount of ₵3,000 per academic year is inadequate for many students.
He conceded that the removal of the guarantor requirement for accessing student loans is a huge relief for many students.
He, however, stated that the policy would be better appreciated if funds are disbursed to students at the beginning of the academic year.
In his remarks, the Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, tasked the SLTF to work towards disbursing the loans as soon as students gain admission to tertiary institutions.
Currently the SLTF disburses loans to students who have gained admission and been registered in an accredited tertiary institution.
The Minister stated that students have to pay a significant portion of their fees before they are registered by their institutions, which prevents many eligible students from gaining access to tertiary education.
“I am hereby instructing the SLTF to disburse the loans at the point of admission, in which case, the initial loan amount would be paid directly to the educational institution”. He said.
The SLTF currently disburses loans to students in 112 accredited tertiary institutions.