The Controller and Accountant-General, Kwesi Agyei, has disclosed that about 4,000 public sector workers on the government payroll have outstanding student loan obligations owed to the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF).
He said his office is working in collaboration with the SLTF to recover the debts through salary deductions, in line with the applicable legal and regulatory framework governing public sector payroll administration.
Mr Agyei made the disclosure at the launch of the Fund’s 20th anniversary celebrations on Thursday, June 18, noting that the initiative is aimed at strengthening loan recovery and ensuring the sustainability of the scheme to benefit more students.
“We have already identified over 4,000 on the government payroll through the collaboration with the Trust Fund. In the coming days, we will engage with the Trust Fund on the modalities of implementing these deductions. We envisage that this deduction will become one of the important statutory sanctions on their salaries,” he said.
He added that the move would help reinforce compliance and improve the long-term sustainability of student financing in the country.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of the SLTF, Dr Saajida Shiraz, announced a 50 per cent increase in access to the regular student loan package.
She explained that timely releases from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) have enabled the Fund to disburse more than GH¢127 million to over 46,000 students, fully covering all loan requests received.
The Board Chairman of GETFund, Emmanuel Bedzrah, also reaffirmed the Fund’s commitment to ensuring the timely release of funds to support student loan disbursements.
