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The government’s write-off of UG students’ loans is most welcomed. Thousands of Guyanese will be rewarded for having stayed and worked for the development of the country but how accessible were these loans in the first place and could more have benefitted? Were/are some policies employed by government agencies discriminatory?
When my younger sibling applied for a student loan years ago, he was told that he had to start making payments on my loan in order to qualify. That was the condition laid out by the UG Student Loan Agency (a Government of Guyana entity). My sibling who had just started his first job as an entry level worker at a call centre was not the guarantor for my loan and was not responsible for me nor my actions, so this imposition was quite irrational. How many students were affected similarly?
When my sibling applied for his loan I was abroad. One year after completing my degree I accepted a GoG scholarship to study in a foreign university. I had to resign from my low salaried public servant job and accept a measly stipend (50 then 100 Canadian dollars per month). If discriminatory practices such as what I’ve described are still in place in state entities, then they need to be dismantled. Let equity prevail.
Nevertheless, I applaud the government’s decision to write off the student loans of Guyanese. This is a direct way for thousands of professionals who give their service to the country to benefit from the oil revenues. The GOAL initiative is another fabulous and visionary undertaking. Education continues to be the key in many developing countries that takes countless young people and their descendants out of poverty and gives not only a better quality of life but a better way of thinking especially where societal scourges are concerned.
