Know the Higher Education Students’ Loans and Grants Board

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Know the Higher Education Students’ Loans and Grants Board

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by Admin2017

Introduction and brief background

In 2015 the Malawi National Assembly passed the Higher Education Students’ Loan Act (Parliamentary Act No.2) which facilitated the establishment of the Higher Education Students’ Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB). The Board is responsible for disbursement of loans to needy and deserving Malawians who are pursuing higher education in all public and accredited private universities and recovering mature loans from all beneficiaries.

This article is the first out of the many to come on a newly introduced Higher Education Students’ Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB) Column.

This HESLGB Column will provide all the necessary information regarding HESLGB and its operations in so doing providing answers to frequently asked questions as per the mandate, core functions, operations and implications of the HESLGB Act on other stakeholders like employers and former students’ loans beneficiaries.

 

However, it should be noted that provision of students’ loans in Malawi dates back to 1985. Since then, the management of higher education students’ loans has been under control of almost five institutions; administrations of constituency colleges of the University of Malawi (Chancellor College, The Polytechnic, Kamuzu College of Nursing and Bunda College of Agriculture), University of Malawi Central Office, Ministry of Education Science and Technology, Public University Loan Trust and the Malawi Savings Bank . All these institutions lacked legal mandate to efficiently administer students’ loans as well as effectively recover loans from former beneficiaries.

HELSGB is, therefore, unique in a way that it was established as a fully independent body with a clear legal and comprehensive mandate to disburse and recover higher education students’ loans on behalf of the Government of Malawi.

The Specific Functions and Powers of HESLGB

According to the Higher Education Students’ Loans Act of 2015, the Board has the following functions and powers to;

  1. control and manage the Fund;
  2. receive and consider applications for student grants and student loans from students;
  3. determine the maximum number of eligible students to be granted student grants and student loans in anyone particular year;
  4. administer and supervise the process of payment of student grants and loans, and repayment of student loans;
  5. keep a register and other records of loans and grant beneficiaries;
  6. advise the Minister on matters of policy and law concerning the grant of student loans and student grants, and recovery of such student loans;
  7. establish operational links between the Board and accredited institutions for facilitating a smooth, efficient and effective administration of student loans and student grants;
  8. establish operational links with employers of loan beneficiaries for the purpose of facilitating the recovery of student loans;
  9. establish and maintain links with other persons, bodies or organizations within or outside Malawi, for the furtherance of the purposes for which the Board;
  10. conduct research and maintain a databank on other local and external scholarships, sponsorships and awards that may be accessed by students;
  11. recover outstanding loans that were granted to students under students’ loan schemes which were introduced in the 1985/1986;
  12. approve staff establishment and development plans;
  13. consider and approve the annual estimates of the Fund submitted by the Executive Director;
  14. monitor and review financial statements and authorize expenditure;
  15. appoint independent auditors for the Board;
  16. appoint committees of the Board;
  17. appoint employees of the Board and determine their terms and conditions of service;
  18. formulate and implement financial policies of the Board;
  19. with the approval of the Minister and subject to the Public Cap. 37:02 Finance Management Act, borrow money for the furtherance of the objectives of the Board;
  20. receive gifts, donations or grants from any person, organization or body within or outside Malawi, for the furtherance of the objectives of the board;
  21. demand and receive fees for services rendered to other institutions by officers and other employees of the Board;
  22. ensure the overall efficient and effective implementation of the provisions of the Higher Education Students’ Loans Act; and
  23. do such acts or things provided for in the Higher Education Students Loan Act or any other written law which may, in the opinion of the Board, be necessary for the proper exercise of the functions of the Board.

 

The Vision and Mission of HESLGB

The vision of HESLGB is to “Support needy & deserving students access higher education’’, and it exists with the sole mission of “sustainably providing accessible and affordable loans and grants to needy and deserving students pursuing higher education in Malawi’’. This is in line with the Malawi Government Higher Education Sector Goal of “Increasing access to equitable and relevant higher education”. 

Source of Funding for HESLGB.

Currently HESLGB is a 100 percent Malawi Government statutory corporation, meaning it receives all its funding from Government Treasury. However, HESLGB has embarked on several initiatives that are aimed at diversifying and expanding its resource base of which of critical significance, is the recoveries of the matured loans from former beneficiaries.

HESLGB Key Stakeholders

HESLGB recognizes that it cannot efficiently and efficiently fulfill its mandate whilst working in isolation, as such it works with the following key stakeholders: Public and Private University, Administrators, Employers, Former loan beneficiaries, Current loan beneficiaries, Institutions that provide grants/scholarships to higher education students and secondary school administrators. This is not overlooking the parent Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Ministry of Finance and the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Technology.

Other stakeholders’ legal responsibility towards functionality of HESLGB

The Higher Education Students’ Loans Act stipulates specific roles and responsibilities for employers, former loan beneficiaries and current beneficiaries in regards to eligibility for receiving loans and loan recovery process, therefore it is imperative that these stakeholders should familiarize themselves with the Act so as to ensure that they are not in conflict with the law.

In our subsequent articles we will unpack the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder as stipulated by the Act.