By Monica Tambala and Priscilla Phiri

Lilongwe, October 21, MANA: Higher Education Students Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB), has appealed to various well-wishers and stake holders to contribute to the boards’ loan fund in order to fully cater for needy and deserving students.

This was presented at a press briefing dubbed ‘Highlights in Audit Report,’ on Friday October 21, Lilongwe.

Speaking at the press briefing, Chairperson of Loans and Grants Disbursement Committee Dr. Henry Chingaipe, highlighted that the lack of funds is a major contributor hindering its ability to accommodate all needy and deserving students.

“Due to limited funds, many students are left out by the eligibility criteria and the amounts of upkeep loans do not fully meet the costs incurred by the students pursuing higher education,

We therefore urge all well-wishers and donors to support the loans board so that it can meet the cost of education for needy students,” he explained.

Commenting on the same, the Chairperson of Recoveries Rachel Kawawa stated that despite the intensified efforts to recover all matured loans from former beneficiaries who are yet to settle their outstanding loans, a lot is yet to be accomplished.

“Since the establishment of HESLGB in 2015 the board has so far recovered a cumulative sum of MK782 Million out of MK16.2 Billion which is due for recovery from 1989 to 2019,

So far the board has recovered MK125 Million from January to September 2022 representing 162% increase from an amount recovered during the same period in 2021,” she said.

Kawawa further pointed out that the board is still extending outreach to public as well as employers to help in recoveries.

“Currently, the board is negotiating with public service providers for information sharing agreements to trace former beneficiaries who are not in formal employment,” she said.

Also present at the press briefing was the Chairperson of Finance and Administration Committee Chrispine Ndalama who emphasized that the board is intensifying reconciliations and audits of all finances disbursed to all universities to ensure that public money is used for intended purposes.

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