Proof of employment, NIS contributions not necessary for university debt write-off – Jagdeo

Days after Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh announced the commencement of phase one of the student loan write-off for tertiary students in Guyana, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said proof of employment and NIS contributions are not necessary.

Jagdeo, during a press conference on Thursday, told reporters that the government understands that some graduates who did not migrate may have been unemployed or may not have made a certain amount of National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributions.

Resultantly, there would be no requirement to show proof of employment or NIS contributions.

“You don’t have to provide that evidence of 156 contributions made to the NIS.

“We want to make this easy for our people, our students who have outstanding loans. We don’t want to put in conditions that will minimise the impact of this initiative which we believe will help a lot of people,” Jagdeo said.

The loan write-off for students is the first phase of a commitment to make university education free in Guyana by 2025.

The Finance Minister had said: “We are moving now to write off all loans owed by Guyanese who are able to demonstrate that they completed their course of study and graduated, and, subsequent to graduation, were employed or self-employed in Guyana for a minimum of three years, as evidenced by a minimum of 156 contributions made to the NIS.”

Dr. Singh believes some 13, 000 Guyanese stand to benefit in this first phase that will see up to $11 billion in student loan debt being written off by the government.m