BabuK
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 30, 2008
- 1,845
- 329
In a bid to recover 811bn/- in outstanding debts, the Higher Education Students Loans Board has launched a major hunt for the defaulters, enlisting assistance of the guarantors and local government leaders.
The plan was revealed by the HESLB Executive Director George Nyatega when briefing Zanzibar House of Representatives Committee for Women Development and Social Welfare in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.
He said the debt had grown from 51.1bn/- in 2005, prompting the Board to launch a special campaign to collect the money each year.
The plan involves searching for students who benefited from the loans, but have failed to repay as required by the law. The Board would also hold accountable employers who fail to submit the money deducted from their employees to service the loans.
Nyatega said last year his Board managed to collect 13.6bn/- equivalent to 42 percent of the expected money. He called upon employers to ensure that they submit funds deducted from the salaries of the beneficiaries.
He however said that there has been an increasing wave of rich people accessing loans for their childrens higher education despite the fact that they were capable of paying from their resources.
He said the money set aside for loans each year was not sufficient, and if rich parents were excluded, more children from poor families would have accessed the funds.
He said this would help to minimise complaints of having a big number of youths who cannot get loans due to the limited budget.
There is a negative perception that the money provided by the government is a subsidy there are some people who rush for the loans while they are capable of privately paying for the education of their children, Nyatega said.
He said the Board was established in 2005 in accordance with the law No. 9 of 2004 as an implementation of the cost sharing policy including helping poor people.
He further said that the number of loan beneficiaries has been increasing each year from 42,760 in 2005 to 95,000 in 2011.
Representative Saleh Nassor Juma, (Wawi) said it was shocking to learn that children of top government officials were given opportunities to study abroad while similar courses were being taught in the country.
You are supposed to tell these officials that the course are available in the country and so there is no need of their children to study abroad, he said.
He said the act of sending children of top government officials to study abroad was misuse of public funds.
Juma also asked the Board to construct an office in Zanzibar so as to minimise inconveniences encountered by students studying in universities there.
However the HESLB said that it had already secured a building and will open its office at Chukwani on the outskirt of Zanzibar this year.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
The plan was revealed by the HESLB Executive Director George Nyatega when briefing Zanzibar House of Representatives Committee for Women Development and Social Welfare in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.
He said the debt had grown from 51.1bn/- in 2005, prompting the Board to launch a special campaign to collect the money each year.
The plan involves searching for students who benefited from the loans, but have failed to repay as required by the law. The Board would also hold accountable employers who fail to submit the money deducted from their employees to service the loans.
Nyatega said last year his Board managed to collect 13.6bn/- equivalent to 42 percent of the expected money. He called upon employers to ensure that they submit funds deducted from the salaries of the beneficiaries.
He however said that there has been an increasing wave of rich people accessing loans for their childrens higher education despite the fact that they were capable of paying from their resources.
He said the money set aside for loans each year was not sufficient, and if rich parents were excluded, more children from poor families would have accessed the funds.
He said this would help to minimise complaints of having a big number of youths who cannot get loans due to the limited budget.
There is a negative perception that the money provided by the government is a subsidy there are some people who rush for the loans while they are capable of privately paying for the education of their children, Nyatega said.
He said the Board was established in 2005 in accordance with the law No. 9 of 2004 as an implementation of the cost sharing policy including helping poor people.
He further said that the number of loan beneficiaries has been increasing each year from 42,760 in 2005 to 95,000 in 2011.
Representative Saleh Nassor Juma, (Wawi) said it was shocking to learn that children of top government officials were given opportunities to study abroad while similar courses were being taught in the country.
You are supposed to tell these officials that the course are available in the country and so there is no need of their children to study abroad, he said.
He said the act of sending children of top government officials to study abroad was misuse of public funds.
Juma also asked the Board to construct an office in Zanzibar so as to minimise inconveniences encountered by students studying in universities there.
However the HESLB said that it had already secured a building and will open its office at Chukwani on the outskirt of Zanzibar this year.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
