Nana Agyei Yeboah Chief Executive Director of Student Loan Fund,
Government has increased the financial allocations of students who are beneficiaries of the Student Loan Trust Fund by 50 per cent.
A statement signed by the Head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Education, Vincent Asafuah, to confirm the increase noted that an amount of GH¢38,441,088 had been disbursed as full payment to the National Commission for Tertiary Education for onward payment.
The increase in the student loan is in fulfilment of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) campaign promise in the build up to the 2016 general elections.
The party, which was then in opposition, promised to increase the amount of loans under the Student Loan scheme.
The party at the time also promised to abolish the payment of utility bills by students and place emphasis on the continuous linkage of academia with industry to ensure curriculum relevance, thereby reducing unemployment.
The Chief Executive Director of the Fund, Nana Agyei Yeboah, reacting to the increase indicated that government was committed to ensuring that hindrances to quality education were alienated.
“Hitherto, the minimum amount given to beneficiaries was GH¢ 1,000 and it was capped at GH¢ 2,000. Government has subsequently increased the minimum and maximum amounts to GH¢ 1,500 and GH¢ 3,000 respectively” he said.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak