The Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), has recovered GH¢2,064,826.12 representing 43.4 per cent in loan repayments which exceeded the target of 40 per cent at the close of their first full year in 2012.
The recoveries were effected through collaboration with major stakeholders and constituents including the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), partner banks, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) and employers in the public and private sector.
Speaking at a press conference, the Chief Executive Officer of SLTF, Mrs Kokui A. Adu, said a total of 895 borrowers had paid their loans in full over the period.
Following the completion of loan repayment, 978 guarantors of borrowers were released of their obligations under the students’ loan agreement.
To date, 42 employers including banks, non-governmental organisations, automobile firms and tertiary institutions are making monthly deductions on behalf of their employees for onward submission to the fund.
Mrs Adu called on guarantors to assist students when they approached them for assistance because the students would repay the loans to relieve them of their obligations as they did last year.
A target of GH¢5.5 million has been set by the fund for recovery through its loan monitoring and tracing process as the total loan due for collection in 2013 stands at GH¢8.5 million.
Twelve thousand out of 26,240 borrowers are expected to commence repayment this year as they have exhausted their grace period.
The grace period for borrowers is two years after school in addition to twice the number of years the student stays in school.
Families and guarantors of students who join the Students Loan Protection Scheme (SLPS) by 0.5% of their disbursements will not be required to pay anything if the student should passes on or becomes permanently incapacitated.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr Cornelius Adablah, said the SLTF was open to all students and flexible because there was a facility for them to have access to how much they were to repay and how the interest would grow.
Since its first disbursement in the 2006/2007 academic year, about 50,000 students from accredited universities and polytechnics have accessed loans by joining the SLTF.
Established in December, 2005 to take over the management of students loans from the SSNIT, the SLTF has legal backing from the SLTF Act 820 and has eased the process of granting loans.
The SLTF now requires only one guarantor and introduced guarantors from corporate bodies of Ghana’s Club 100 or listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange, metropolitan or municipal and district assemblies and high authorities in nationally recognised religious bodies.
Credit: Daily Graphic
