TROY, Trelawny — Opposition spokesperson on education, Marissa Dalrymple-Philibert, has called on Government to find the money to pump into the Students' Loan Bureau (SLB) in the wake of reports that more than 50 per cent of prospective applicants might not be able to acquire loan assistance from the lending agency.

"I am calling on the minister of education, I am calling on the prime minister — who loves the poor — we must find the money to educate our children," Dalrymple-Philibert said.

"If we believe in Jamaica, if we are going to invest in the future, we must find the money to give them (tertiary students) the loan so that they can move forward," she added.

She was speaking at the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Area Council Four meeting held on Sunday at the Troy High School in Southern Trelawny.

Last week SLB Chairman Tony Lewars admitted at Parliament's Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) meeting that the Bureau, which receives more than 6,000 applications yearly, will need strong private sector support going forward.

In the meantime, Dalrymple-Philibert also blasted a report she claimed was put out by the Ministry of Education, which has given the Career Advancement Programme (CAP) a failing grade.

The programme was introduced in 2010 by then Education Minister Andrew Holness as a means of providing educational options for unattached youth between the ages of 18 and 21.

"There is a report out by someone in the Ministry of Education that said CAP was a failure. I want to ask where were the figures taken from? How was the data collected" ? the JLP member of Parliament questioned.