Student loans start

Debra Matabvu, Harare Bureau
TERTIARY students will from this semester access educational loans from leading financial institutions to pay tuition fees.

Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Minister Professor Amon Murwira said the Government, Eduloan, CBZ and ZB banks were finalising the modalities.

“We are rolling out the students loan scheme and the only sticking issue is to discuss terms that are favourable to our students because some of them may not be able to provide a guarantor and that’s what we are working on to make it easy for the learners,” he said.

“The scheme will start this February when tertiary colleges and universities start a new semester. The application forms are already at the tertiary learning institutions. ZB Bank, CBZ, Eduloan recently made pledges when we met President (Emmerson) Mnangagwa. Other financial institutions are still to come on board.”

Prof Murwira said Government was keen on assisting students to pay tuition fees as universities depend on such funds. He also said his ministry had already met various local and foreign investors who were offering students’ accommodation on a build-operate-transfer model.

“The model is very attractive to investors because accommodation for students has a particular fees structure; so investors build a hostel and recover their money over a period of time. It’s an economic model that also boosts economic growth and encourages foreign direct investments. We are prioritising areas such as Marondera, Manicaland and Gwanda. The building programmes will be laid out in the (ministry’s) 100-day plan.”