THE GOVERNMENT of Guyana (GoG), through the Ministry of Finance, has commissioned a $26.5M building which will house the University of Guyana (UG) Student Loan Agency.The agency, housed in a building provided by the country’s premier tertiary institution since 1994, was previously housed in the project office of Sub-component ‘A’ of the Human Resource Training and Development Agency, and was financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) at a cost of US$14.4M, with counterpart US$1.6M being provided by the former Government.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan has noted that the building has served its purpose, and after 22 years of occupation by the Student Loan Agency, the attendant wear and tear which was unmatched by the necessary maintenance has taken its toll.
Additionally, he pointed out that the need to adequately serve a growing student population in a more comfortable and friendlier atmosphere became an imperative whose time could no longer be postponed.

As such, in or around the third quarter of last year, at a meeting, then UGSS President Joshua Griffith pleaded with the minister for a new building for the loan agency.

“There I pledged to provide a new building. I then had a conversation with the then Vice Chancellor, Professor [Jacob] Opadeyi, who was immediately receptive in making available a piece of land for construction of the building. A team was then assembled to bring the project to fruition,” he said.

Minister Jordan said that not only will the staff be housed in a more habitable environment, but students could be assured of a more pleasant atmosphere.

“I ask that the building be used for the intended purposes,” he admonished.

The student loan agency, which is responsible for managing a revolving fund, has made available to students approximately 26,239 loans amounting to $9.5B to assist students in paying their tuition fees; but as of May 2016, statistics show, repayment had amounted to only $1.75B, with installments due amounting to $5.7B.

Despite this outstanding amount, Minister Jordan noted, Government has been fulfilling its obligation to provide funds so that students can access loans to finance their education.

He said students have an equal obligation to repay those funds on completion of their tertiary education and in keeping with the terms and conditions of their contracts. Failure to repay these loans, he pointed out, will result in this revolving fund drying up and likely resulting in future students being denied an opportunity to pursue their tertiary education.

“The selfish attitude of many borrowers, who are in a position to pay but who refuse to honour their obligations, must not be allowed to derail the scheme… In putting in these measures, we do not want to make life hard for any student, but we will be irresponsible and derelict in our duty as a Government if we allow hard-earned taxpayers money to be flittered away in high delinquent rates and low recovery ratios,” Minister Jordan reasoned.

He is hopeful that, with the new measures, present and future students will honour their financial obligations.

Head of the Student Loan Agency, Rawle Sue-Ho, told reporters that June and July have yielded much repayment since the agency began its public awareness campaign. He said there has been a spike in the repayment of loans.

“In June, we had over 100 per cent increase from the previous months’ collections… Students have been coming in to make payments on old loans, with some paying off… There was a continuation of the trend in July,” he said.

A recently conducted forensic audit of the agency revealed that from 1994 to May 2015, some 17,567 or 69.4 per cent of borrowers were deemed delinquent.

Also present at the opening of the new building were Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Jaipaul Sharma; Finance Secretary, Dr Hector Butts; and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Planning and Development) Dr Elizabeth Ramlall.