By SIMON MUNTEMBA
GOVERNMENT should extend the student loan scheme to private universities to allow students there to access education loans like their colleagues in public universities, the Zambia National Students Union (ZANASU) has said.
ZANASU Secretary-General, Isaac Mambwe said the new dawn government should concentrate on increasing loan schemes to benefit more students, including those in private universities instead of just thinking of reintroducing meal allowances which other students were managing without.
In an interview, Mr Mambwe underscored the need for students in private universities to also have access to the student loan scheme.
He said it was not fair for the government to bring divisions among its own citizens by depriving deserving students in private learning institutions of the much needed student loan scheme.
He said the student loan scheme must be designed in a way that allowed every vulnerable citizen, irrespective of social status and whether in public or private universities, to access the loan which is recoverable upon graduation and when the recipient gets employed.
“Can Government look at the actual need of the students and consider extending the loan schemes to the private higher learning institutions. There are more public learning institutions that have come up and there is need to increase funding towards this particular component which has also vulnerable students who need financial assistance,” Mr Mambwe said.
He said much as others wanted the reintroduction of meal allowances, “It’s not all students who need that component of the bursary. Others are managing but are in dire need of tuition fees.”
Mr Mambwe urged Government to carry out a case study and look at the actual needs of the students from both private and public learning institutions to resolve their challenges.
He also challenged the government to clarify how the student loan scheme will be accessed at constituency level according to the 2022 national budget.
“Now that we are told that these loans will be accessed at the constituency level, we need clarity. Does it mean that even those from the private sector as long as they are part of a certain constituency they will access it, or the responsibility will still be with the Higher Education Loans and Scholarship Board?” he asked.
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