This is on top of the 33 tertiary institutions which have been cleared to admit students on the scheme
The number of universities to admit students under the Students Loan Scheme on Monday reached 21, up from the 20 universities in the last two years.
This after ISBAT signed a contact with the Higher Education Students Financing Board, commonly known as the Students Loan Scheme executive director Micheal Wanyama and his team.
During the signing of the contract, Wanyama was flanked by ISBAT’s board chair Varghese Mandamatam and the vice-chancellor Col Dr K M Mathew and the Scheme’s loans and scholarships manager Bossa Kizito.
This means the country now has 21 universities and 33 tertiary institutions which have been cleared to admit students on the Students Loan Scheme.
The Scheme is for Ugandan students seeking to pursue higher education in accredited institutions of higher learning, recognised by the National Council for Higher Education and also pursuing an accredited programme.
The applicant will have been admitted to an accredited higher education institution. The applicant will be required to make a written application to the Higher Education Students’ Financing Board by filling in a required form and submit it within a specified timeframe.
In the Academic Year 2019/20 1,851 students were added onto the Student Loan Scheme, passing the 10,000 milestone as the total number of beneficiaries reached 10,041 students since 2014.
Launched by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni 2014/15 academic year; with 1,201 beneficiaries, the numbers have steadily increased to 10,041 beneficiaries in 2019 with the beneficiaries pursuing 130 degree programmes and 76 undergraduate diploma courses mainly in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programmes.
The Uganda Higher Education Students’ Financing Board (HESFB) is a fund used to provide financing to Ugandan students who have qualified for higher education in recognised institutions of higher learning but are unable to support themselves financially.