THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WISH to endorse statements made by Maurice Tomlinson about the Students' Loan Bureau (SLB) in a letter to the editor recently.
I have not had a benefit and do not want one because it is my humble opinion that it is suicidal.
There are young university graduates going to work every day, depressed and annoyed at the overwhelming demand and responsibility imposed by the bureau.
OBLIGATIONS
Some persons have vowed to pay at their convenience, while there are others who refuse to pay and insist that they are entitled to a basic, decent standard of living which they will put in place before considering their obligations to the bureau.
There are in fact some beneficiaries who have left the country. The demand is contributing to the nation's brain drain.
I know of several persons who are having serious difficulties coping with the heavy payments, as well as harassment from the loans officers who behave like telemarketers, sales representatives or insurance agents whose salaries are based on commission.
Many beneficiaries are not prepared for the hefty pay-back sums. More should be done by means of written information advising the loan recipients of the nature and extent of their obligations to the bureau at the end of their studies.
I know two persons who have sought explanations but have not received any suitable guidance or assistance from the officers in charge of the accounts. There are indeed many graduates who are salaried slaves to the bureau.
PROGRAMME LIKE JAMVAT
Some eight years ago prior to the 1997 elections, P.J. Patterson stated that his Government was minded to implement a programme that would see beneficiaries of student loans working in inner-city schools or on certain projects in return for a reduction in the quantum of repayment to the bureau.
Similar statements have come from Opposition Leader Bruce Golding and MP Andrew Holness in recent months.
The JAMVAT programme now facilitates students by paying one-third of their annual tuition fees.
A similar programme could be implemented to facilitate students in debt. I am confident that this programme will be oversubscribed.
This could be linked to the provision of teaching hours in the afternoons or on weekends in public schools islandwide.
Persons should not seek to evade their duty to repay the sums borrowed, but I also think that efforts should be made to facilitate students in debt in order to make it less burdensome for these persons.
What about a reduction in the interest rate?
I am, etc.,
L. DICKENS
Mandeville, Manchester
