OPPOSITION LEADER Edward Seaga yesterday cited a lack of fairness and burdensome terms for student loans as being among the major potholes in the island's education system.
Addressing the St. Andrew Rotary Club's luncheon held at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Mr. Seaga cited inequities in government funding among the various secondary schools islandwide and "the suffocating burden" of the terms of the Student's Loan Bureau under which recent graduates were forced to deal with or face embarrassing sanctions too soon after they graduate.
"The terms are too harsh to meet," said Mr. Seaga who advocates a longer repayment period for student loan borrowers and "softer interest rates".
While he was unable to give a precise interest rate which could be described as reasonable for student loan repayment, Mr. Seaga said several measures, including sourcing funding outside commercial banks, should correct the problem.
"Obviously new funds would have to be raised because additional funds would be required and the new funds ought not to come from commercial banking systems as some of the funds have recently come," he added.
Mr. Seaga said the funds for a more student-friendly loan scheme must come out of long term low interest funds which were available from multilateral and bilateral institutions.
When this is done, he said, students can be allowed a longer moratorium period and repayment schedule.
"To graduate this year and then to start making repayment next year is very hard," he said. "There is a period of moratorium that is required to allow the student to be able to get settled in a job and then to begin earning in a manner that can allow for repayment."
In his presentation, Mr. Seaga also said the Government cannot expect better results from newly-converted high schools if top traditional high schools are receiving three times as much funding per student than they are receiving.
The result of this inequity, he said, is that 77 per cent of students taking the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) exams will continue to not pass at least one subject.
While citing the inequities in the current system, Mr. Seaga said that under his government, value-based courses geared at character development will be included in the school curriculae at all levels.
"There is no poor country that is educated and no educated country that is poor," he said.
