NUGS petitions SLTF to increase loan amounts to tertiary students

Amid the rising cost of living in the country, the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has appealed to the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) to increase the loan amount to government tertiary institution students in the country.

“We have proposed an increment in the loan amounts provided to beneficiaries to account for the variations in programme costs and the rising cost of living,” the President of NUGS, Daniel Oppong Kyeremeh said at a press conference.

The Ghana Students Union leader also urged to all relevant stakeholders involved in the mobilisation and disbursement of the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) to ensure that funds are released to public tertiary students on time.

The intervention by stakeholders involved in the mobilisation and disbursement of the loan, he explained, would allow the fund to access resources promptly and avoid situations where beneficiaries suffer due to delayed funds.

“We urge all stakeholders, including the GETFund, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, and Controller and Accountant General’s Department, to ensure that funds due to the SLTF are paid on time. This will enable the SLTF to disburse loans promptly to beneficiaries,” he added.

Acknowleding SLTF as a critical lifeline for many students in Ghana, he said it had come to the notice of NUGS that there had been numerous complaints regarding delays in the disbursement of loans and the high compounding interest rates.

He indicated that NUGS had engaged with the SLTF leadership and made several proposals to address these concerns, which included speeding up loan payments, reducing interest rates, and making direct payments to schools.

The Ghana Students President said the National Students Union also called for a reduction in the compounding interest rates on student loans to make them more manageable for students upon graduation.

Regarding direct payments to schools, Mr. Kyeremeh proposed that the SLTF should make payments directly to the schools of beneficiaries. He said this move would help ensure that tuition fees are paid promptly, thereby preventing any disruption to students’ education.

In a related development, the management of the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) made a disbursement of first payments for the 2023/2024 academic year to 56,409 Colleges of Education teacher trainees (Level 100 to 400).

The alert notice received by prospective trained teachers reads “Please be informed that the first payment of this academic year has just been done. Some 56,409 have been paid their 2 months allowance.”