Students Loan Trust Fund Names and Shames Defaulted Borrowers

The Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) has taken bold steps towards tackling its longstanding issue of loan defaulting.

In compliance with the Students Loan Trust Fund Act 820, which authorizes the publication of defaulters before prosecution, the SLTF has published names and details of 30 of its borrowers who have defaulted in their loan repayments.

The publications which appeared in the Daily Graphic on May 17 and May 22, reveal that the defaulting borrowers have loan amounts ranging from ¢1500 to ¢11,000.

The SLTF has attributed the increase in the number of students accessing tertiary education to the “no guarantor” policy and the rollout of the Free SHS policy.

According to Nana Kwaku Agyei Yeboah, CEO of the Fund, these policies have been impactful in providing opportunities for students from the poorest of families to access tertiary education.

Nevertheless, the CEO reveals that the increasing demand for loans has resulted in the SLTF putting in place various strategies to meet the growing demand.

Among them are diversifying its funding sources and embarking on a more aggressive loan recovery approach. The Head of Repayment and Resource Mobilisation, Rosemary Aryee, reveals that the SLTF has invested significantly in expanding its repayment platforms to give convenience to borrowers and greater efficiency for the Fund.

Borrowers can now access various platforms such as partner banks, credit or debit cards, mobile money, or the Ghana.gov platform to repay their loans. Borrowers in the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe have the option of using the PayAngel platform to make regular payments.

However, with the rising cases of loan defaulting, the Fund has begun enforcing the law by prosecuting defaulting borrowers.

“The Fund relies on the recovery of loans for its sustenance and it is through this that new generations of students have the opportunity to access financial assistance. Borrowers who refuse to repay their loans are denying others the opportunity to access tertiary education, and we have taken the decision to commence criminal prosecutions to recover the monies owed,” said Ms. Aryee.

It is evident that tertiary education has become more accessible to students as a result of government policies. Nevertheless, loan defaulting by borrowers threatens the sustainability and availability of such assistance.

Borrowers are urged to take their loan repayment obligations seriously and maximize the available avenues for repayment.