Some students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) who were deferred for their inability to pay school fees, thronged the student’s loan office at KNUST on Tuesday to begin the process of applying for loans.
This follows an intervention by the Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, for an extension of time for the payment of school fees and the subsequent announcement that the students could now take advantage of securing student loans using their Ghana card without any guarantor.
Six thousand students from KNUST were forced to defer their courses as they were unable to pay their fees.
Per the school’s administration, the students are to pay at least 70% of their fees. Those who were unable to pay were deferred.
This caused some Members of Parliament, like the Sissala West MP to ask students from his constituency to reach out for assistance.
The Students Representative Council (SRC) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), also intervened on behalf of some students who had paid more than 50% of the fees, with the support of GHS 50,000.
The extension of the payment deadline following the intervention of the Education Minister, and the opportunity for the students to access the government loan for students, means that the affected students may be able to continue their academic activities without any hindrance.
The Students Loan Trust Fund had not disbursed funds for some months now, a situation that affected many university students.