Student Loan - Loans and Debt Consolidation

GOVT URGED TO START STUDENT LOANS NEW VISION

Govt urged to start student loans

By Darious Magara and Lydia Lakwonyero

THE Government has been urged to start a student s loan scheme to help needy students pursue university and tertiary education.

The principal of the Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Prof. Nelson Ssewankambo, said the scheme was crucial since higher education was becoming more expensive for private students.

Addressing journalists on Monday at the college premises in Mulago, Ssewankambo said the scheme would be viable for the banks and the students The press conference was held to announce the activities that would mark the health week.

Such schemes are already operational in Kenya and Tanzania. They should be started here to help needy students to meet the big challenge of tuition and other fees, he said.

The activities to mark the health week included health talks on cancer, malaria and HIV/AIDS testing and blood donation.

The college dean, Prof. Richard Adome, said the school had started an exchange programme with a university in Ethiopia.

The Mulago School of Medicine dean, Dr. Stephen Kijjambu, said as part of their strategy of making students appreciate working in rural areas, the school had started an early clinical exposure for students.

Students used to get their clinical exposure in their 3rd year, but now we expose them in the first week of their course, he said.

Kijjambu added that the school was re-orienting the M...[more]