The Ministry of Education through its department of tertiary education financing, engaged a consultancy to review the grant/loan scheme, which has been operating since 1995 without any review. The consultancy-BEST- will also recommend a new direction in the areas of critical human resource for the economy and the award of government sponsorships and recovery of student loans.
In their second draft report that was presented to the ministry, the researchers, led by Professor Sheldon Weeks, stated that such a law should address the general framework of establishing a loan scheme for eligible students and the administration and management of the scheme. The report states that the Act should address the establishment of a student loan scheme to assist eligible applicants to pay for costs of tertiary education. The Act will address how the scheme will be funded, the application of the scheme and the process of application for the loan, and the condition of the loan when granted. "For example, the requirements of a written agreement between the loan provider and the beneficiary, benefits to be assigned unique identifiers, what would happen in the event the beneficiary does not perform satisfactorily in his/her studies and the manner of the disbursement of the loan amount," the report said, adding that the Act will have to address the issue of recovery of loans, by clearly spelling out the beneficiary's obligations to repay the loan with the consequences of not repaying defaulting in repayment.
