Zanzibar cuts student sponsorship
Zanzibar Second Vice President Seif Ali Idd chats with Fujoni Secondary School students during their visit to the House of Representatives in Zanzibar yesterday. PHOTO | MWINYI SADALLAH
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He told the House that in order for the process to be a success, the government has decided that no beneficiary of ZHELB working for the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar will be allowed to go for further studies before clearing their debts.
Zanzibar. The Zanzibar Higher Education Loans Board (ZHELB) will only sponsor new 1,000 students in the next academic year down from 1,400 in the current academic year. Presenting his ministry’s budget estimates in the Zanzibar House of Representatives (ZHR) yesterday, the Minister for Education Ali Juma Shamhuna said the reduction follows minimal funds which have been allocated for the forthcoming financial year.
He said the board is now putting more energy in debt collection from graduates and beneficiaries of the loans and up to March this year they had managed to get Sh166 million. “We hope this initiative will help to boost the number of new beneficiaries in the near future,” he said.
He told the House that in order for the process to be a success, the government has decided that no beneficiary of ZHELB working for the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar will be allowed to go for further studies before clearing their debts.
According to Shamhuna, ZHELB will have Sh8.7 billion in its pocket to spend for the new and continuing students from Zanzibar in the 2014/2015 academic year.
In the current 2013/2014 academic year ZHELB managed to cater for 2,823 new and continuing students from the isles.
