Gov’t readies to go after student loan debtors
Monday, April 10, 2023 | 220 Views |
Tertiary Students PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
This week Minister of Education and Skills Development (MOESD) Douglas Letsholathebe admitted that it has not been easy to establish the exact amount owed to government due to initial shortcomings of the manual sponsorship process employed for the tracking of tertiary education funding.
Responding to a question in Parliament, Letsholathebe said due to the scale of this operation, it is planned to complete in March 2025. Furthermore, the ministry commissioned a project to undertake the migration to a larger system, upgrading and enhancement of the Student Loan Management System in July 2019.
When claims of such gravity are made, especially by a sitting Assistant Minister they cannot be brushed aside, delayed, or treated as routine political noise. Even the Ombudsman has confirmed receipt of a report from a political party and a review of these complaints is now underway. That is a necessary first step. But it is only the beginning. The seriousness of the allegations demands urgency, transparency and clarity. The public is entitled to...