Over 40,000 students have benefited from the Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board (HELSB) programme since the inception of the loan scheme in 2016.
HELSB Chief Executive Officer, Doctor John Machayi said these are students currently enrolled in 10 public universities across the country.
“To date, a cumulative total of 44,469 students have benefited from the Higher Education Loans and Scholarship Programme since its inception,” Dr. Machayi disclosed in an interview yesterday with Lusaka Star reporter, Gerald Mambwe.
“When a student graduates, they are given a one-year grace period. After that, if they are employed, they are expected to start repaying their loan. This policy is still in force.”
He however, said the board has faced challenges in loan repayment, attributing this to graduate unemployment, which has remained high in the country, noting that this situation affects the level of recoveries.
“Despite this, we are still managing through government support. My message to graduates who have benefited from the loans is that repayment should be taken as a personal responsibility,” he said.
“We manage a revolving fund, and the funds recovered from former beneficiaries are what we use to support new students.”
Dr. Machayi further called on loan beneficiaries to come forward voluntarily to fulfill their obligations to allow more students benefit and contribute to revolving funds.
Meanwhile, Dr. Machayi said HELSB has introduced an online digital system for student loan applications and screening to eliminate long queues and unnecessary delays.
“The new online screening process is being implemented to eliminate long queues and unnecessary delays that affect learning time,” he disclosed.
“Our IT department is working closely with Corporate Affairs and Customer Service to ensure the process runs smoothly and efficiently.”