Students start accessing loans

STUDENTS at higher and tertiary institutions struggling to pay their fees can start applying for Government's non-collateral loan facility being administered through one of the country's commercial banks.

Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister, Professor Amon Murwira, last month revealed that the loans would be accessible starting at the end of this month.

Students have previously raised concerns that they were struggling to access loans from the private sector due to stringent conditions, resulting in some of them deferring their studies.

The loan facility is meant to promote inclusion for financially incapacitated students at the tertiary institutions.

In an internal memorandum to the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) students, the institution's registrar Mr Fidelis Mhlanga confirmed that the loans are now accessible as per Ministry's communication.

"All the students are hereby advised that the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development promulgated the establishment of Higher and Tertiary Education loan scheme, starting August 2019. The loan scheme is administered by Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe Private Limited," read the internal memorandum.

He said the loans will be awarded to deserving students after strict assessment of their applications. The loan is targeting vulnerable students who were failing to access education as they could not meet collateral requirements demanded by other financial institutions.

"Communication from the Ministry indicates that needy students should access the loan first and foremost. The communication from the Ministry further states that the selection process will be strict and transparent to ensure that deserving students are supported. The loan must be paid either during the years of training or immediately after completion of studies," he said.

Mr Mhlanga said students should start collecting application forms from the university's students' affairs division.

"The applications will be vetted by the university committee and the successful applications will be then be submitted to CBZ Bank Pvt Ltd which will additionally carry out further due diligence on the status of the applicant. For those students whose applications are successful, the loan will be paid directly to the university to cover tuition, ancillary fees and accommodation charges," said Mr Mhlanga.

He said students who are able to repay their loans should not wait until they complete their studies. Mr Mhlanga said the repayments should commence even at the end of each semester.