SLB guarantor requirement to be removed come April 1

Effective April 1, applicants to the Students' Loan Bureau (SLB) will not be required to have guarantors to access tertiary financing, Minister of Finance Dr Nigel Clarke has announced.

Clarke said the requirement of guarantors for student loans is a regressive policy that discriminates against low-income families who cannot as easily find someone with the means and willingness to stand guarantee for them.

“This policy has been in place for several decades and we are happy to abolish the requirement for guarantors for student loans,” said Clarke.

He was opening the 2024/25 Budget Debate in the Lower House when he made the announcement.

He said from data available to the SLB, rarely are payments made by guarantors.

The finance minister said in all but a few instances, guarantors have served the purpose of locating students.

He said that it is anticipated that by the time the first batch of students who benefit from this policy graduate from university, the National Identification System will be a reality.

“We will not need guarantors for that purpose as NIDS will suffice,” he said.

Meanwhile, Clarke said the removal of the requirements for guarantors for wards of the State resulted in an over 100 per cent increase in applications.

He said with the 12 months of that policy change, applications moved from 46 the previous year to 98.

Added to that, he said that the removal of requirements last year for guarantors to be provided for applicants from PATH households saw a 185 per cent increase in applications.

Within the last 12 months, Clarke said that the number of PATH beneficiaries accessing the SLB jumped from 192 in the previous year to 547 in the 2023/24 financial year.

- Kimone Francis

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