LOAN CRISIS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS

Student loans misunderstanding in our country have been an issue for a number of decades now, with the fifth government under the president Dr John Pombe Magufuli facing the pressure from the different stakeholders and citizens of increasing budget to enable all students to access higher Learning education in Tanzania.

Higher Education Students Loan Board (HELSB),Failed to give loans for the students higher learning now had become the biggest problems in our country without knowing what will be the solution.

According to HESLB executive director Badru Razaq, said that they failed to give more students and sometimes did not give on time because most of beneficiaries did not repay their loans on time.

There were complains that some of the students who qualified for loans had not been awarded, while who did not meet the requirements had received loans from Loan Board.

Another problem discovered, many students claimed that they were not content with the grades assigned to them for academic year 2016/2017 that did not reflect the real situations of their learning environment.

Because of endless misunderstanding with students, HESLB has been forced to continually change it operation especially regarding the way grades are allocated to ensure that all students achieve the collect evaluations.

Last year loan board, provided information that only students who score first and second class could get loans, as well as students who achieve third division marks but who were admitted into priority education and science courses, said HESLBs director for Communication, Education and Information, Cosmas Mwaisobwa.

Many students who applied higher education learning for academic year 2016/2017 by using diploma foundation course complained that HESLB failed to give them loans although they have admitted to the instruction provided.

More over although they change the way it operate still they receive complains from the citizens because many students every year especially 2016/2017 year failed to receive loans even they have admitted to get loans.

Back in days many Universities students from different universities within the country they carry out demonstration, in 2006/2007 academic year many students were demonstrated and was the biggest demonstration compared to others because many students got injuries when were fighting with the police all this in order for Loan Board to acquire them  loans on time.

Since then, demonstration among the Universities students in our country becomes they behavior or like it is culture they carry out any time when Loans board late to give them loans on time.

When students start to demonstrate as a parents you can cry and feel pain because when you saw them through different media especially television and social media like Instagram some of them get injury and lost their life.

Most of the students depend everything on loans so when loan board delay to give them, they think the best way is to carry out demonstration may be they will take action faster because sometime demonstration take place even on the Loan Board office which made them to react and find the best way to pay those money for students

Many students said that loans to them is very necessary because most of them they can not study due to the higher fees and most of them came from poor family which they can not fulfill to pay mills, accommodation and school fees .

One student spokes to the writer of this feature who does not his name to be revealed said that it very bad and it pain alots when he scored one division and he meant all the required instruction but still he failed to get loans, so he will not study this year due to that because their parents they can not afford to pay all the requirements.

Juma from Mwenge said that, It does not make sense students admitted to universities then Loan board does not give them loans, this is very shame because some of the students came from poor family so how they can pay that fees? I think the government should increase the budget of loans because days coming it will be the biggest disease in our country if they does not find the best way to solve this problem.

However, many citizens in the country continue to claim and pressurize the government under the Higher Learning Student Loan Board (HESLB) to find a good way which will help to reduce complains from students and beneficiaries loans.

In October last year, Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Vocation Training Professor Joyce Ndalichako told reporters that 2016/17 academic year they late to give loans to the students because were assessing the students ghost and insisted that they will continue in order to give loans to the targeted ones.

Prof Ndalichako addressed that Sh2.6bn from ghost students recovered when their making assessment in various higher learning institutions which she gave 31 universities seven days to return the money that was released to at least 2000 students in 2015/2016 academic year.

Due to that, the government has suspended students loans this came after a verification exercise revealed that some who signed up for loans may not even exist.

Ndalichako added that some of the ghost may have qualified for loans and then stopped attending classes, other may have actually completed their degrees but never had their their names removed from the loans beneficiary list, still may have died but loans money continues to be paid.

Explained that an assessment by the Loan Board has identifies 93000 loan beneficiaries to whom it served invoices with only 81055 of them started  to repay debts while 12,445 others have not paid even a single amount.

However HESLB in 2016, goes so far by announcing the names of those who did not repay their loans in various media in order to repay faster for just 30 days which was not easy.

Due to that announcement people claims that the board they not fair because you can not give the ending day to loan defaulters because most of them until to day their unemployed due to the lack of employment in our country and even the faculty that are given priority like education still the graduated students from 2014 academic year are not employed so how they can repay that loans.

The Boards want to collect the funds to enable it to give to the students beneficiaries of higher learning, and said that failed to repay they will get penalty of 10 percents of all the defaulted deduction said HESLB director Badru Razaq.

Razaq added that, all students beneficiaries of loans should repay loans after two years when completed their studies, failed to do so they will be held to jail.

Most of higher education beneficiaries in 2016 year claims that what they repay is more than three times what they were loaned so it give hard time to them because it take time to make assessment were they have other issue to carry out.

But in reality when you think about the reaction of board due to the beneficiary to send them jail or pay 10 percent when failed to repay their loans it is like a joke because most of the students since they have graduated until today are unemployed so how they can repay their loans because our education does not prepare students to engage on entrepreneurship and even if how they can do that without having a capital, because we know that everything if you want to establish, capital is very important.

And most of the graduator have more than five years have not permanent job, through this the government need to provide education which will lead the students who graduated to employ themselves compared to know which all the graduate are waiting to be employed by the government or private sectors.

Also the government need to make its operation more transparent and holds more opinion from stakeholders before making major decision on student’s loans which will help to avoid misunderstanding among them.

The HESLB established in 2004 by the Act No 9 of 2004 and commenced its operations in July 2005.The Act among other things empower the HESLB to administer and supervise the whole process of payment and repayment of loans.