Opposition wants SLB guarantor requirement removed for all
Published:Thursday | March 9, 2023 | 5:02 PM
The Opposition wants the Government to remove the guarantor requirement for all Students' Loans Bureau (SLB) applicants.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke told the Budget Debate in Parliament that beneficiaries of the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) who apply to the SLB will not need guarantors to support their applications come September.
Clarke said that the 'no guarantor policy' reaped success with wards of the State, with the SLB now having 98 applicants from that category, up from 46 a year before.
Contributing to the debate this afternoon, Opposition Spokesperson on Finance Julian Robinson argued that the policy should be extended to all persons.
He argued that the need for guarantors is “the main impediment to accessing funding” for many.
Robinson contended that one of the main reasons students are not enrolling in tertiary education is because of a lack of funding.
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