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The Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board (HELSB) claims to have recovered over K194 million in student loan repayments since 2018, surpassing its annual target of K170 million as of December 31, 2024.
HELSB Chief Executive Officer, John Machayi, revealed that 69,321 beneficiaries whose loans had matured had been supported at various higher learning institutions since 2004.
Speaking at a media briefing in Lusaka on Friday at The Qorum, Machayi stated that the total loan recovery currently stands at K194,175,616.47 since 2018.
He explained that the Student Loan Scheme, introduced in 2004 to replace the unsustainable Bursary Scheme, required students supported by the then Bursaries Committee—now HELSB—to repay their loans with 10 percent interest amortized annually.
He noted that HELSB began loan recoveries in September 2018, with 10,692 beneficiaries currently repaying through the government payroll and 7,712 employed in the private sector making repayments through their employers.
Currently, HELSB funds students at nine public universities, with support increasing from 17,444 students in 2020 to 37,094 students in 2024 due to successful loan recoveries.
Read More: Higher Education Board grants additional loans to 690 Mulungushi University students
The funded universities included the University of Zambia with 14,271 students, Copperbelt University with 9,596 students, Mulungushi University with 6,838 students, Kapasa Makasa University with 1,119 students, Chalimbana University with 1,865 students, and Mukuba University with 1,746 students.
Others are Kwame Nkrumah University with 1,364 students, Palabana University with 284 students, and Zambia University College of Technology with 388 students, although the latter is yet to register with HELSB.
HELSB is also sponsoring 1,476 Zambian students for international scholarships in Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Morocco, Russia, Serbia, Mauritius, and Tunisia. Russia has the highest number of scholarship recipients at 675, followed by Morocco with 480.
He called on other institutions to partner with HELSB and help sponsor students in need, emphasizing the transformative impact of education.
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