The Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board (HELBS) has urged graduates who are owing and employed in the private sector to comply with student loan repayment obligations, stating that timely repayments are essential for sustaining the loan scheme for future beneficiaries.
HELBS Corporate Communications Manager, Chiselwa Kawanda, says beneficiaries of the student loan scheme are required to repay their loans once they secure employment, regardless of whether they are working in the public or private sector.
“All beneficiaries of the student loan scheme are expected to start repaying their loans once they are employed.
“This applies to those working in both the public and private sectors,” Ms Kawanda stresses.
She explained in an interview with the media that the Board is engaging private sector employers to facilitate loan deductions through payroll systems once a beneficiary is identified.
“We are working with various private sector institutions to ensure that once a beneficiary is identified, the necessary deductions are effected in line with the loan agreement,” she said.
Ms Kawanda, however, acknowledged that tracking some beneficiaries working in the private sector remains a challenge.
“Some graduates do not update the Board on their employment status, which makes it difficult to track them, but we are strengthening our monitoring systems to improve compliance,” she said.
She added that loan repayment is critical to the sustainability of the scheme as it enables the Board to support more students seeking higher education through the loan facility.
Ms Kawanda re-emphasised the need for graduates to comply with repayment obligations, stating that loan repayments will help maintain the revolving fund to support future beneficiaries.0
