OPPOSITION political parties have welcomed the Government’s decision to transform the University of Zambia (UNZA) bursary scheme into a loans board.
MMD deputy national secretary Chembe Nyangu said in an interview yesterday that giving loans to students would go a long way in promoting education in Zambia.
He said introduction of a loans scheme would ensure that more students have accessed to funds to enable them attain their desired education.
“The idea of a loans board is a very important new idea and needs to be supported as it will go a long way in improving education in Zambia,” Mr Nyangu said.
Mr Nyangu, however, called for the proper management of the loans board to be introduced to ensure that it saved the desired purpose.
He said it would be important for the Government to consider relaxing the conditions to be attached to the loan scheme to ensure many vulnerable people were given an opportunity to get education.
UPND secretary general Winston Chibwe said e introduction of the loans board was long overdue.
He said the Government should not just turn the bursary into a loans scheme but also create an environment which would make it possible for the students to pay back the loans.
Mr Chibwe said the Government should increase employment in the country to assist students pay back loans after completion of studies at the university.
He said that without employment, it would be difficult to maintain the loans board as a revolving fund organisation because many students would not be able to pay back.
Education Minister John Phiri told Parliament last Friday that the Government was working out modalities to transform the bursary scheme into a loans board to ensure as many students as possible accessed education.
I thought it has been a loan scheme for close to 10 years now. These shenanigans appear like political nincompoops.
The devil lies in details. There is need to develop an elaborate Loans Board to guarantee integrity and transparency in access and equity. The idea is simply magic. What remains is to implement it properly. Public relations will go a long way in avoiding misunderstandings and confusion with tragic consequences. teenagers can be extremely volatile faced with a harsh reality. Failure is success in reverse mode but the youth may take it for fate.
It changes nothing if loans will only be accessible to the well connected and the politicians’ children. Unless it means that everyone accepted into UNZA will qualify for a loan automatically? Further this “loan” should be in inverted commas as there is no employment for most graduates for them to pay back the loans. Only doctors, nurses , teachers and mostly civil servants will pay back the bulk of the loans.
@NOX, YOUR THINKING IS TOO SHALLOW. FIRSTLY, THE LOANS ARE NOT FOR UNZA ONLY. THEY ARE FOR ALL GOVERNMENT UNIVERSITIES IN ZAMBIA- THE ONES UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND THOSE NOT YET BUILT. SECONDLY, EVEN IF ONE GRADUATES AS A TEACHER HE CAN DECIDE TO DO FARMING AND AS LONG AS THEIR EARNING IS EQUAL OR ABOVE THE SET SALARY/WAGE THEY WILL START PAYING UP THE LOAN. WHAT WE SHOULD WORRY ABOUT IS DESIGNING INTEGRATED AUTOMATIC SYSTEMS THAT START DEDUCTING/RECOVERING THE LOANS FROM THE EMPLOYEES WHO USED THIS FACILITY (STUDENT LOAN AS IT IS CALLED IN THE UK) WHEN EMPLOYED OR SELF-EMPLOYED.
…FURTHER STILL THE SYSTEM SHOULD STOP THE LOAN RECOVERY PROCESS WHEN THE DEBTOR IS NO LONGER IN EMPLOYMENT OR NO LONGER EARNING ENOUGH. FURTHER STILL THE SYSTEM MUST HAVE ALL IN-BUILT REPORTING PROCEDURES ABOUT A DEBTOR IN ORDER TO REFRESH THE DEBTOR’S CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES. THEREFORE ALL EMPLOYERS IN ZAMBIA BIG OR SMALL MUST REDESIGN THE EMPLOYMENT FORM WHICH INTERFACES WITH THE GOVERNMENT THROUGH VARIOUS MINISTRIES SUCH AS LABOUR, EDUCATION, LOCAL GOVT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, AND HEALTH.
THEREFORE, THE DESIGN OF EMPLOYMENT FORMS BY EMPLOYERS MUST BE STRICTLY BE SUPERVISED BY THE LABOUR MINISTRY. (I FORGOT TO INCLUDE THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE ON THE ABOVE LIST). AND THE GUIDE LINES BY LABOUR MINISTRY MUST BE IMPROVED UPON OVER YEARS AS PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES START TO MANIFEST. THEREFORE, GOOD SOFTWARE ENGINEERS (as well as students) SHOULD BE EMPLOYED TO DO EXTENSIVE ANALYSIS AND DESIGN TO COME WITH A BRILLIANT DATABASE SYSTEM AND PROGRAMMERS DO AN EXCELLENT JOB OF AUTOMATING THE DATABASE SYSTEM.
…ONE OF THE BRILLIANT DESIGNERS IN THE SOFTWARE ENGINEERING FRATERNITY I KNOW IS Dr CHIYABA NJOVU WHO IS FORTUNATELY CURRENTLY IN ZAMBIA AND CAN MORE THAN ABLY LEAD A TEAM OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERS (analysts/designers/(java) programmers) TO DO A BRILLIANT JOB ON ORACLE DBMS WITH A JDBC (java database connectivity). I AM TALKING FROM THE SOFTWARE ENGINEERING STANDPOINT AND MY ADVICE MUST NOT BE IGNORED. OTHERWISE, STUDENT LOANS AS THE UNZA VICE CHANCELLOR LONG ADVOSED IS A BRILLIANT IDEA THAT WILL EMPOWER ALL AND SUNDRY.
@ Peter uli chamano sana
That’s a nice move and good contribition. Thinking is the biggest
The bursary has been a loan since the 1980s (and maybe even before) but govt has not made any follow up to collect the money. The Govt just wants to run away from its manifesto on page 10 “Provide a bursary scheme to all tertiary educations for all pupils who qualify to public institutions of higher learning”. This is an excuse of not wanting to commit themselves this year for the 4000 stranded students. Can they give them the bursary now if PF is serious!
All of us who benefited from government sponsorship should just pay back through monthly deductions. The money we received was classified as loans and not bursaries way back from 1980s.
If the government is serious about the loan system to sponsor students to higher learning institutions, they can learn from fellow African countries like Kenya. Kenyan has a loan system and the students who benefit from it pay back the loans. I have friends who have been paying back their loans.
This is doable the government just needs to have the will to do it and draw a serious plan on how to recover the money
Miles Sampa of a STUDENT TRUST BANK,s miles ahead of all ideas.
Imagine if the following are persuaded to contribute K100,000.00 each as simple shares in the bank!
1. Mr Berlin Msiska (ZRA boss)
2. Businessman Rocky Sombe & wife (Lusaka)
4. Advocate V Malambo (Lusaka)
5. Advocate William Nyirenda (Kitwe)
6. Advocate S Nkonde (Lusaka)
7. Advocate E Silwamba (Lusaka)
8. Advocate Chitabo Mwila (Lusaka)
9. First Lady K Sata (State House)
10. Former First Lady M Mwanawasa (Lusaka)
11. Advocate Wilson Banda (Chingola)
12. Politician Kalombo Mwansa (Lusaka)
13. Advocate and Politician Sakwiba Sikota (Lusaka)
14. Advocate Michael Mundashi (Lusaka)
15. All Graduate Lady Police Offices
16. All Graduate Men Police Officers
17. ALL MP graduates from UNZA etc
@Andrew P & @Peter,you are right. The issue is not in the pronouncement but how to make the loan scheme fair and viable. As a country we have failed to make use of our existing national registration numbers to tied individuals to important traceable transactions. We have not fully utilised Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to make our information in order to help us make informed decisions and solve problems such as loan disbursement and recovery… Going by the way they are trying to address this problem,it appears they are just fire fighting with out a holostic approach to solving the problem. Let them come up with a well thought of solutions that will not only be for University but Colleges too as tertiary education is at different levels.
welcoming GRZ good policy by the opposition is one matured way of being responsible oppositions.
however, on the subject matter; as others have alluded to, the Government must put up a workable mechanism that will help in not only the tracing of loaned students , but most importantly the sustainability of such a policy.
thanks.
Please ensure the loan scheme benefit a deserving student from higher learning institution and no discrimination. Public funds are for all citizens, irrespective of background.
If Government cannot afford proper bursaries NOW but instead comes up with a scheme for ‘loans’, this simply means that at some time in the future the ‘loans’ will have to be written off as a loss.
If you want to never see a particular person any more: just give him a loan.
Ivo.
Be careful what you wish for – I hope the roll out will be well thought through and the suffering of our young guys and girls reduced or just about eliminated. It is about time but do a good job.
PF shud just implement their policies where school leavers shud first go to colleges for two or three years, employed then go to universities for two years. colleges are cheaper and MORE mature pipo will obtain university education
The whole idea is fine and will benefit many if only it is not abused as is the case now. I suggest a head count of current beneficiaries of the GRZ Bursary be done and compared with the records with the Bursaries committee. You will be shocked at the large number of ghost students awarded the scholarships every year at the expense of deserving brilliant students. Many officials at Bursaries have taken advantage and benefit from these scholarships. ACC we urgently need your services in this area.