Loan Applications for non-State Uni. Degrees online: MoE
View(s):The Government announced that applications are now entertained for interest-free loans, from Advanced Level students who wish to follow Degree courses in non-State universities. The Ministry of Education (MoE) said that all GCE A/L students with a minimum 3 Passes in the A/L Exam, are eligible for the loans.
The loan, to be given through the Bank of Ceylon (BoC), will not exceed Rs 800,000 for a 4-year course or, Rs 600,000 for a 3-year Degree programme. An MoU will be signed between the BoC and the student with the parents signing as guarantors. No collateral is required for the loan.
The loan will be released in installments, for each semester, directly to the institutions concerned, the MoE said. Interest on the loan will be borne by the State, with a 1-year grace period given to students on completion of the Degree programme, to find jobs. Thereafter, the students are expected to commence paying back the loan in installments, calculated without interest, in 7 years.
The first lot of students to benefit from this scheme will be those who sat for the GCE A/L in 2016. Interested candidates are requested to apply online through the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) website. The MoHE has identified 8 Degree-awarding institutes for this purpose namely, Horizon Campus College of Education, Malabe, Sri Lanka Institute of Information technology (SLIIT), National School of Business Management, Sanasa Campus, Institute of Chartered Accountants Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Technological Campus, Colombo International Nautical & Engineering College and KAATSU Institute (KIU), Thalangama. - Chrishanthi Christopher