National Union of Public and Private Educators of Zambia (NUPPEZ) has described the recovery of over K65 million from former public university students by the Higher Education Loans and Scholarship Board as impressive.
Union President Victor Muyumba told Money FM News in an interview that the recovered amount clearly shows that there is an orderly manner in the way the recoveries are done because there haven’t been any complaints from former students from whom the money is being restored your form.
Mr. Muyumba stressed the need for the Ministry of Higher Education to ensure that the money which is being recovered from the former students also benefits those who have been picked to pursue higher education.
“In terms of the recoveries that government has done, visa-vie, the former public university students since the introduction of the loan scheme, I think that is an impressive amount and it shows that there is an orderly way of doing the recoveries.”
“We have not heard of any complaints from these former students from whom the recoveries are being done. When you look at the revelation that K65 million has been recovered, it’s impressive, it shows we know where we are going and what we want,” Mr. Muyumba said.
He said priority should be given to the under privileged especially those that are coming from needy families.
“So we also call upon the people that are doing the recoveries, the Ministry in question, to ensure that this amount of money or this money which is being recovered from the former students benefit the would be students or those that have been picked to pursue higher education.”
“We need to ensure that especially the under privileged, those that are coming from needy families are prioritized because those that have money can manage to use the money they have to sponsor themselves at school or to sponsor their children at school,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, Mr. Muyumba urged former students who have not yet started paying back the loans to make themselves available so that the recoveries can be done.
“The message also to the ex-students who have not yet started paying back the loans is that this is something which is law and that each one of us must do what the law requires. They should make themselves available so that the recoveries can be done,” he said.
Recently, the Higher Education Loans and Scholarship Board disclosed that it has recovered over K65 million in loans from former public university students since the introduction of the loan scheme.