SLB approves 99 per cent of applications
THE Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) has approved 99 per cent of the applications it received for the 2017/18 academic year.
In a release to the media, the SLB said sufficient funds have been identified to cover the demand for loans.
A total of 13,024 applications were received — 6,882 (53 per cent) from returning students and 6,142 (47 per cent) from new applicants, the SLB said.
“The primary sources of funding student loans are the proceeds of the Special Education Tax provided by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS), as well as the repayment inflows from collections,” SLB said.
The SLB provides tuition loans for studies at approved tertiary institutions, primarily under the targeted loan facility and also through the pay as you study (PAYS) loan facility.
According to the release, the maximum loan accessible under the PAYS facility was recently increased to $1 million and is repayable monthly (while in school), over a seven-year period at a reduced interest rate of six per cent per annum.
The Targeted Loan, SLB said, is repaid after graduation and the applicable interest rate is 7.8 per cent during the moratorium period and 9.5 per cent when the loan enters repayment. The interest rate on some specific programmes under the targeted facility were reduced to six per cent earlier this year. The loan tenure is 15 to 20 years.
The SLB said it also offers postgraduate loans for people pursuing master’s degrees and PhDs, and the maximum loan is $1.2 million, repayable over a five-year period at an annual interest rate of 9.5 per cent.
“Interest is charged on the reducing balance method for all student loans. All Jamaicans who matriculate for studies at the approved tertiary institutions are eligible to apply for student loans,” the release said.
