Minister inaugurates Students Loan Trust board
The Minister of Education, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman, has inaugurated a 13-member board of the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), with a call on members of the board to craft the requisite policies to remove financial barriers to the acquisition of tertiary education.
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The board is chaired by a government nominee who is also the Director of Human Resources at the Forestry Commission, Mr Andy Osei-Oprah. Other members are Ms Monalyn Anokye-Benpah; Mr Sam Donkor and Mr Solomon Osei Gyamerah, as government appointee, while Mr David Arley is representing the Ghana Employers Associationm.
The rest are Mr Daniel King from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT); Mr Stephen Baffoe, representing the Ghana Education Trust Fund; Mr Paul Dzandu from the National Council for Tertiary Education; Mr Rauf Adam from the National Union of Ghana Students, and Mrs Evelyn Keelson from the Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General’s Department.
Mandate of board
The board is mandated to arrange for the appointment of a team of professionals for the efficient management of the affairs of the fund.
The board is expected to monitor and evaluate the operations and performance of the fund and also ensure accountability of the fund by defining appropriate procedures for its management.
It is also to disburse money from the fund and invest some of the money in safe securities that are financially beneficial to the fund.
Recovery of loans
Inaugurating the board, Professor Opoku-Agyeman reminded the board of its mandate to establish systems to ensure the effective and efficient recovery of loans and put in place structures and guidelines that would ensure fairness in the disbursement and application of the fund.
She said in addition to that the board was mandated to formulate policies to determine the terms under which money from the fund would be allocated to eligible students and the maximum amount of money that might be granted by the fund to an applicant.
Gratitude
The Chairman of the board, Mr Okrah, in thanking the minister and President John Mahama for the confidence reposed in members, said the board was poised to provide the needed leadership by way of deploying strategies to ensure massive repayment from beneficiaries in order to expand the fund to reach many targeted Ghanaian students.
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