1,100 Students To Benefit From Loan Scheme

1,100 students are set to benefit from the government’s Loan Scheme for 2023/2024 as they pursue their higher education. This development was announced by State Minister for Higher Education Hon. John Chrysestom Muyingo at the Uganda Media Centre on Wednesday.

This year’s cohort of beneficiaries is the 10th since the inception of the loan scheme in 2014. In the 10th cohort, a staggering 513 students, which accounts for 83% of beneficiaries, are undergraduate students. This leaves 107 beneficiaries pursuing diploma courses. Additionally, 207 of the students are female with 893 male beneficiaries.

However, Minister Muyingo says this number could have been bigger had the Ministry had the resources. The Higher Education School Financing Board (HESFB) tasked with this program had to turn down numerous applicants to meet their budget, which was restricted to Shs 5.2 for this financial year.

Over 5,000 applicants were unsuccessful, with Hon. Muyingo admitting that the demand for student loans exceeds the available resources.

We recognize that there is a need for more funding to capitalize the Board as the current demand for student loans has certainly surpassed the available resources.

Minister JC Muyingo

Also present at the Media Center was the Executive Director, HESFB, Mr. Michael Wanyama, who reiterated their commitment to ensuring female applicants and persons with disabilities are beneficiaries of the Student Loan program. These were awarded a seven-point advantage over their male counterparts.

My Ministry will seek an audience with our counterparts at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and colleagues in Parliament for increased funding for the Board.

Minister JC Muyingo

The HESFB board started implementing the student loans scheme in 2014 and has since supported about 13,400 beneficiaries. Of these beneficiaries, at least 11,393 have acquired undergraduate degrees and 2,012 undergraduate Diplomas. Additionally, the majority of the programs the students did were mainly in Science, Technology, and Math (STEM).

The Students loans scheme has become popular among students over the past decade. It has opened doors for underprivileged learners to access higher education at both undergraduate degree and diploma levels.

However, it faces numerous challenges such as in the application phase that the board promises to sort through decentralization of the process. They believe that this will ensure broader accessibility.