STUDENTS LOAN TRUST DISBURSES GH¢600m THIS YEAR — CEO

The portfolios covered the Students’ Loan, Students Loan Plus, allowances for teacher trainees, the No Academic Fees policy, and free tertiary education for persons with disabilities. “So this year, we have spent quite some money. In the next academic year, it is going to be a little significantly higher than that. We are looking at close to GH¢800 million,” Dr Shiraz said. She made the disclosure during a joint press conference with the President of the Association of African Higher Education Financing Agencies (AHEFA), Dr John Machayi, at the Sixth AAHEFA International Conference in Accra last Tuesday. The two-day conference, hosted by the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), is being held under the theme, “Digital transformation in higher education financing: The role of technological advancements in ensuring sustainable, inclusive and resilient higher education financing system in Africa”. The conference brought together academics, researchers, policymakers, and heads of higher education institutions. Appreciation for government support Dr Shiraz attributed the progress of the various initiatives to the government’s commitment to supporting the programmes. She disclosed that the SLTF received more than GH¢1 billion in funding last year. “We received more than GH¢1 billion in funding, and this is possible because President John Dramani Mahama has prioritised education and tertiary education financing as a key pillar of his Reset Agenda,” she said. Regarding the No Academic Fee policy, Dr Shiraz said the SLTF had so far disbursed funds to 169,000 students, with a target of reaching 175,000 students. She also said the trust fund was using technology to improve the delivery of its services. Addressing issues involving mismatched names and data, Dr Shiraz advised beneficiaries to upload their affidavits onto the SLTF portal for verification. She explained that beneficiaries must have their student status confirmed before their applications could be processed for disbursement. 2026/27 academic year projection Dr Shiraz said the SLTF was projecting a 25 per cent increase in beneficiaries for the 2026/27 academic year, with a target of close to 200,000 beneficiaries. “We are also looking at close to 80,000 loan applications,” she said. She added that the fund expected to reach about 300,000 beneficiaries for its loan programmes in the next academic year. “So in the next academic year alone, we will be hitting about 300,000 beneficiaries for our loan projects, especially because in this academic year, we will be restructuring and reintroducing our digital product loan scheme to enable students to get financing from the fund to buy digital products,” she added. Dr Shiraz further disclosed that the SLTF would fully digitalise its loan systems beginning this academic year. Under the new system, students would sign their loan agreements online, making access to student financing easier. Higher education funding For his part, Dr Machayi called on African governments to view higher education financing as an investment in human capital. “The responsibility is with the student financing agencies to finance the skills that are required in the country. We need to churn out graduates who are assets to our respective governments,” he said. Dr Machayi also described technology as an important enabler of higher education financing, stressing the importance of data in the process. “We need deeper conversations around numbers because it is very critical,” he said.