Gov’t aims to write off $5B in student loans by year-end

About $5 billion in student debt at the University of Guyana (UG) could be written off by year- end as part of the government’s move to gradually make tertiary education free, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said on Thursday.

For the year so far, about $203.7 million in student loans has been written off. About 346 students benefited from this debt wipeout.

Using those figures, Jagdeo said it amounts to about $588,000 being spent on each student on average.

Though that is a small chunk of the approximately $18 billion owed by students over the past 20 years, Jagdeo assured persons that the debt owed by graduates who remained in Guyana will be wiped out by the government.

“It is anticipated that another 2,900 will get their debts written off.

“If we use the same average, that will be about $5 billion this year,” Jagdeo said on Thursday.

He also urged graduates with outstanding debts to apply for the deb write- off so that the venture can proceed.

The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government has promised to make tertiary education free by 2025 but before that, it has begun to wipe out loans owed to UG.

In December last year, President Dr Irfaan Ali said the government would deliver on its promise to make university education free and will undertake a step-by-step approach from 2024.

Outside of this debt wipe-out, the Vice President reminded the public of the government’s major scholarship venture- the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL)- whereby any person derious of studying can get a tertiary level education. He also reminded individuals that there are remedial programmes available for those who don’t yet qualify for GOAL scholarships.