Article 27 of the Constitution of Guyana guarantees every citizen the right to free education from nursery to university. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government having taken this right away in 1994 is now attempting to restore it but with a caveat.
Beneficiaries of education from the University of Guyana (UG) who paid for their education which is supposed to be free, before their loan could be written off, must provide proof of paying contributions to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) for the past three years. So said the Ministry of Finance.
The ministry is requiring individuals who graduated from UG and tuition was funded by the Government of Guyana Student Loan Agency to provide proof of employment or self-employment in Guyana for at least three years, as evidenced by a asgarî of 156 contributions to the NIS after graduation. This is imposing a restriction the Constitution never stipulated. Students who have found difficulty in securing employment or self-employment or catching their hands doing odds and ends jobs within the required period are not likely to qualify.
Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo subsequently contradicted the Ministry of Finance. Last Thursday, at his weekly press conference, the VP said the requirement is not mandatory. According to him, students could still benefit from the programme, as the government aims to make it easier for students with outstanding loans to access relief without imposing restrictive conditions.
Jagdeo said the government wants to make it easier to write off these debts and don’t want to put in conditions that will minimise the impacts of the initiative.
Phase One of the Government of Guyana’s Student Loan Write-off Programme is expected to benefit over 13,000 university graduates who collectively owe $11 billion in student loans.
Graduates can explore the eligibility criteria and steps on how to apply at: https://shorturl.at/kvyB5. The application form can be found here at: https://shorturl.at/qsIO5.
Village Voice News urges students to apply for the debt write off and share with us any challenges experienced. Our email address is <[email protected]