History of the HESFB Students Loan Scheme Uganda
The Uganda Students’ Higher Education Financing Scheme (Students Loan Scheme) is a fund intended to provide financing to Ugandan students who have qualified for higher education in recognized institutions of higher learning but are unable to support themselves financially.
The 1995 Constitution provides for protection and promotion of fundamental human rights and freedoms particularly under Chapter 4. Article 30 provides that all persons have a right to education and this is expounded in the preamble to the Constitution which provides for the National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy that directs the State to take appropriate measures to afford every Ugandan citizen equal opportunities to attain the highest educa- tional standard possible.
The essence of the higher education financing scheme is to support the sector policy objective of increasing access to quality education in view of the large number of brilliant but needy students who are not among the 4,000 students sponsored by government and cannot raise fees for self sponsorship. In this regard, the Ministry of Education & Sports formed a Taskforce to put in place mechanisms that are going to kick start the activities for implementation of the student loan scheme.