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Borrowing and lending are some of the most common practices in our communities. It is a practice that dates back to a thousand years and at one point or another we all have been involved in borrowing or lending. Getting a loan is a very good example of such a practice. In the simplest terms a loan is the lending of money from one individual, organization or entity to another individual, organization or entity.

A loan entails that the borrower receives or borrows an amount of money, called the principal, from the lender, and is obligated to pay back an equal amount of money or the same amount of money with an additional cost, referred to as interest, to the lender at a later time.

These simple principles apply on all types of loans including the student loans. However, student loans differ from all other types of loans because their interests are subsequently lower and the repayment time frame varies. Click to read full article.

In 2015 OXFAM released a study report titles “A Dangerous Divide: the state of inequalities in Malawi”. The study focused on the Malawi’s’ state of inequalities across a range of dimensions which included consumption, education, health, and wealth. The report revealed that the levels of inequalities among Malawians are increasing and that the impact of the growing inequalities is largely felt by the poor who are the majority of Malawi’s population.

These sad revelations are contrary to Malawi’s aspiration stated in the vision 2020. The vision states that “Malawi will endeavor to reduce disparities in access to land, education, employment and business opportunities between urban and rural people, men and women, people with and without disabilities”. The gist of our entry this week is to look at the inequalities in the higher education sector and situating the student loans as one of the key solutions to reducing the inequalities in the higher education sector. Click to Read full article.

In April 2016 the Higher Education Students’ Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB) started its Students’ loans recovery campaign which, among many other things, aimed at raising awareness about the existence of the Loans Board and to mobilize former beneficiaries of student loans schemes to pay back their loans. The students’ loans recoveries campaign so far used press releases, media interviews, radio and television interviews, briefing of members of various professional bodies like Malawi Law Society, ICAM, IPMM  and more others including mounting of billboards among many other activities.

To motivate all former graduates to commence their loan repayments, the Loans Board gave former loan beneficiaries (1985-2014) a one year (1^st April, 2016 to 31^st March 2017) grace period to repay their loans without interest. This received positive responses from a large number of former loan beneficiaries who paid back their students’ loans.

However, the students’ loans recoveries campaign also met some resistance from some former beneficiaries who chose not to repay their loans even though they were well aware of their legal obligations to pay back the loans and already knew where and how to repay the loans. Click to read full article

The purpose of our entry this week is to provide general information to employers on recovery of outstanding loans from former beneficiaries and to explain their responsibilities in making deductions and remitting the same to HESLGB; in so doing ensuring that employers are guided in complying with the provision of the HESLGB Act.

HESLGB offers loans to Malawian needy and deserving students who are pursuing undergraduate degrees or advanced diplomas. HESLGB provides these loans in the following categories; (i) tuition fees loan, (ii) upkeep loan, or (iii) Books and stationery loan. Students apply for either one category or a combination of any of the categories. Click to download full article.

Most of us who have gone through higher learning institutions have sad and untold stories about our despondent past and somehow and somewhat we found ourselves to be where we are today, the present that is better than the past. Whether our stories are thrilling or heartbreaking, what matters is that such stories helped in shaping who we are today. It is common knowledge that there are a lot of Malawians who came from “nothing” and they struggled to be where they are today.

We have managed to move out of poverty through hard working, dedication, perseverance, sacrifices and mostly by the support of others and in this particular case, through the intervention of the Government of Malawi, in the case of those who went to University of Malawi (UNIMA) and Mzuzu University (Mzuni) as it bailed us out of our desperation through the provision of the student loan schemes. Most of us who benefited from the student loan schemes are now Chief Executive Officers, Executive Directors, Senior Government Officials, Lawyers, Pastors, and big business owners just to mention a few professions. Click to read full article.