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Unzasu welcomes students' loan Facility

Unzasu welcomes students' loan Facility
By Lovely Kayombo
Mon 18 June 2012, 13:22 CAT

UNIVERSITY of Zambia Students' Union president Ali Tunkara has welcomed the government's decision to introduce the loan facility, saying it will rid of the corruption that characterised the acquisition of a bursary for study at the institution.

Education minister Dr John Phiri says the government will soon phase out the bursary scheme for higher learning institutions because of serious flaws in the way the current scheme is being administered.

Dr Phiri said the bursary scheme would be replaced with a students' loan scheme which would compel beneficiaries to pay back after completion of their tertiary education.

He said the current bursary system does not meet the expectations of the general public and does not benefit vulnerable students.

But Tunkara advised the government to find strategies that would allow students to repay the loans.

He said the loan would make students focus more on academic issues rather than activities that bring anarchy because they would realise that at the end of their training they willhave to pay back the loan.

"Most students will actually have access to the loans unlike what has been happening previously, where a few had access to the bursary scheme not only here at UNZA but also students from colleges that have been upgraded like Evelyn Hone College, NIPA and NRDC...there is a lot of corruption in the administering of these bursaries. You find that one who has both parents is given 100 per cent bursary while the one with no parents will be given nothing at all," he said.

"So we are going to have a situation where we are going to be responsible youths that are going to concentrate more on academics unlike indulging in activities that will result in anarchy. We have realised that most of the students that demonstrate are actually those that are on bursary and they know that they will be back even if the institution is closed down."

Meanwhile, the University of Zambia Council's ad hoc committee on students loan chairperson Dr Euston Chiputa said the loan would be guided by an Act of Parliament which would be tabled at the next sitting of Parliament.

"There will be an Act of Parliament and a stakeholders' meeting has been called by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Justice to discuss the bill and finalise on the modalities," said Dr Chiputa

Labels: LOANS, STUDENTS, UNZASU

posted by MrK @ 3:20 PM