The Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) has taken the step of publicly naming and shaming 30 borrowers who have defaulted on their loans, as part of its efforts to address the increasing demand for loans from tertiary students.
In accordance with the Students Loan Trust Fund Act 820, the names and details of defaulters were published in the Daily Graphic on May 17 and May 22.
The loan amounts in default range from ¢1500 to ¢11,000.
Nana Kwaku Agyei Yeboah, CEO of the Fund, emphasized that the demand for loans has risen due to the introduction of the “no guarantor” policy and the higher number of students accessing tertiary education through the Free SHS policy.
The SLTF is implementing strategies to meet the increased loan demand, including diversifying funding sources and adopting a more aggressive loan recovery approach.
Rosemary Aryee, Head of Repayment and Resource Mobilization at the SLTF highlighted the investments made in expanding repayment platforms for borrowers, aiming to enhance convenience and efficiency.
Repayment options now include SLTF partner banks, credit or debit cards, mobile money, the Ghana.gov platform, and the PayAngel platform for borrowers in the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe.
Moving forward, the SLTF plans to enforce the law by prosecuting defaulting borrowers to recover the outstanding loan amounts.
The Fund relies on loan recovery for its sustainability and to ensure that future generations of students can access financial assistance.
Ms Aryee emphasized that borrowers who fail to repay their loans are denying others the opportunity to access tertiary education, and criminal prosecutions will be initiated to recover the owed funds.
