Tertiary student hopes new SLB rules help her finish degree
While growing up in rural St Andrew, Nyoka always aspired to be the first in her family to attend university.
After graduating sixth form in 2019, that dream seemed attainable when she was accepted to The University of the
West Indies (UWI) to pursue a bachelor of science degree in human resources. Things looked even better as she managed to secure a loan from the
Student Loan Bureau (SLB). However, just three semesters into her studies, she was forced to drop out when she learnt that her guarantor no longer met SLB requirements as she wasn’t earning enough.
The 23-year old told THE STAR that for her, university was a way to a better life, and after being accepted, she thought “a new chapter had started”. She recalled being on the sixth form block when she received the acceptance letter on her phone.
“It felt so good. I was so excited, because to be honest, I didn’t expect to see it that quickly because I applied late. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life after sixth form but mi seh mek mi tek a chance,” Nyoka said. She started university in 2019, but in late November 2020, SLB gave her the bad news.
“I tried so hard to find a second guarantor, but mi never have nuh body. It was already so difficult to get the one person ... and she lived on the other end of the island,” Nyoka said, adding that her mother was unemployed and could not assist.
Nyoka now owes the UWI and SLB about $300,000 each. As she earns only $90,000 a month, she has to focus on clearing her debts.
“It hard fi know seh mi owe suh much money and mi nuh have nothing to show. I try not to think about it but it’s really depressing because the majority of the persons I started with graduated last year, and some graduating this year. So it’s painful to see, especially knowing the only thing that stood in my way was funding,” she said.
But the aspiring real estate agent refuses to give up on her dream. In the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke announced that starting April 1, the SLB will no longer ask applicants to find guarantors to access loans to study at the tertiary level. Clarke, who opened the 2024/2025 Budge Debate, said low income applicants would benefit from 4,200 grants in the sum of $60,000 each.Nyoka believes that this new policy is a game changer.
“It will be life-changing for a lot of persons including me, because the guarantor aspect stopped a lot of persons from going to school or continuing their education. So they have to work so hard for so long to pay tuition out a pocket,” said Nyoka.
“I tried so hard to find a second guarantor, but mi never have nuh body. It was already so difficult to get the one person ... and she lived on the other end of the island.”