The Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board (HELSB) has said that it has failed to award Loans to 8 004 eligible first-year students at the University of Zambia (UNZA) for the 2021/2022 academic year due to budgetary constraints.
In a statement released to the media, HELSB said, however, that it has only awarded student loans to 2,481 eligible first-year students at the University of Zambia for the 2021/2022 academic year, who had scored 5 and 6 points, bringing the total of students currently being supported at UNZA 8,539 students.
HELSB further said that they had received an overwhelming response of 10,682 applications, of which, 6,150 are males while 4,532 are female representing 58% and 42%, respectively.
Of the total number received, 10,485 applicants are eligible for the award of student loans while 197 are ineligible, representing 98% and 2%, respectively.
The ineligible applicants are as a result of completing Grade 12 before 2017, non-attachment of required documents to the student loan application, having been already awarded students loans at other Universities and being non-Zambians.
“Due to budgetary constraints, HELSB is unable to award student loans to all eligible applicants for the 2021/2022 academic year, ” the statement said.
1,340 of the total awarded applicants are male while 1,141 are female representing 54% and 46%, respectively. Further, 1,040 students awarded are from rural districts while 1,441 are from urban districts representing 42% and 58%, respectively.
All the Thirty-Nine (39) applicants living with disabilities have been awarded student loans representing 1.6% of the total awarded applicants.
“In view of the Covid-19 4th wave, HELSB requests that all queries from unsuccessful applicants be sent to [email protected] and a response will be given in the shortest possible time, ” the statement concluded.
Bally will fix it through Constituency Development Fund (CDF). Icalo calyanguka ukuteka ngauli kunse.
For f@!k sake is there anything that works fraud or corruption free in Zambia? print the bloody money and give the students loans. What’s wrong with these people? What sort of budgeting is this if you can’t fulfil 100% of your commitment? We really have dynasaurs at the helm of our institutions.
We told you guys. Promises have started failing. It is easier said than done.
Free education tulabeko yafumapo pama campaign promises. 1 out 9 to go.
@1 mutulangoma
Yes when you’re in opposition everything is easy….but once you’re in office it’s a different ball game…HH has now become master Chipante pante and I have a feeling he will be kicked out from office
All students should be provided a loan, all of them. It pays back in the long run.
The youths are now getting their just deserts. If you make a bed of thorns, be prepared to sleep in it. These gullible youths voted massively for HH and the UPND in the vain hope that “Bally will fix it”. Told that free education was a chimera, some arrogant dependents even had the cheek to tell me to my face that even if I didn’t pay their school fees, Bally was going to handle that. Now the chickens have come home to roost!
Zambians love free things.Young people voted in masses for HH especting free things.it doest work like that.work hard Barry can’t fix anything apart from appointing his friends and his bantu botatwe groupings.
@Moscow(op) please educate us, how is a loan a freebie? Ushe nkongole ni mahala mu Zambia?
I get amazed at simple minds that are just lazy to think even a little bit! The current cycle budget planning could have been more preoccupied thinking about the August 2021 elections by the PF and forgetting to allocate funding for the students loans and scholarships! The unavailability of funds has nothing to do with the “New Dawn” administration who one would believe must have in their first budget cycle effective 2022 such funds for the scholarships board or funds enabling transition to “free” tuition.” Critics need to exercise some patience or try to understand an issue before making uninformed comments! The university new enrolment and progression calendar begins in October of each year and parliament could be still debating the budget for the ensuing cycle! A solution need to…
contd….. be found for all qualifying students than leaving them in the cold…. Time for hard logical decisions is now for no one should be left out! The sooner the favorable “free” tuition is implemented the better but rather than “free” as in free free something should give way in compensation to the government education bill!
Nipano tuli
Good…. youths too much ku sawa ….The forward you wanted please enjoy …
What a huge disappointment for the many youths who voted for Bally. Ask me where most of the 2, 481 first years to be given loans will come from. Check the region of Zambia with the best schools and you will know that only one region will get most of these loans. Ask UNZA where the majority of first years come from and you will be told the Southern Province has historical advantage over other provinces because they have more schools that were established earlier than in most provinces of Zambia by missionaries. So, with the 2, 481 first years being given loans, you know that this historical injustice of Zambia’s educational system continues under the UPND. Yet UPND was voted for mostly by youths from all regions of Zambia including the non-UPND strongholds.
My grand mother would say, uyu mulembwe wacipuba uupwila mulitumfwe….
Bally will fix it, meanwhile the word BALLY is the term used to express anger, annoyance, or shock, Therefore, we are yet to see amashoko……..nipano tuli…….
Due to poor budgeting, only two out of 10 eligible first-year at UNZA will get loans. That is a recipe for corruption. The scheme must be restructured. Loans should be provided to all eligible students.
BMW told us free education will be from Primary School to University. Anyway let us not stress, we now know ni punka.
Develop the quarter system if all provinces are to be covered. Period!!!