The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Tom Mosoba
2 November 2008
The Higher Education Students' Loans Board (HESLB) is calling for introduction of a new public levy to raise funds to pay fees for Tanzanian students in institutions of higher learning.
The Board's executive officer, Mr George Nyatega, revealed that the agency whose work is to give study loans to needy students has petitioned the government to introduce a "higher education levy" for that purpose.
Mr Nyatega said the proposed levy, in form of a tax on products and services, could offer a solution to the problem of shortage in state funding amid growing need for loans by thousands of students.
"This is an idea that we are mulling and have already brought it to the attention of the relevant authorities. The government has directed the board to present a concrete plan," Mr Nyatesa said at a meeting on Saturday with Media managers.
The meeting in Dar es Salaam that was attended by Editors and other top officials of the Loans Board was meant to highlight HESLB operations and challenges and exchange views for a mutual understanding.
Currently, the Tanzania Education Authority (TEA) benefit from government funding that however goes almost entirely into funding infrastructural facilities at all the education levels.
The amount equals two percent of the government's yearly recurrent expenditure after deduction of the national debt and has been grossly inadequate to also meet demand.
Mr Nyatega explained that if accepted by stakeholders who will be fully consulted, the education levy could be taxed in the form of crop cess, fuel levy, company tax, or in any other form so that the board end reliance on state budgetary allocation.
"It is a mockery that with the billions of shillings they were making in profits, one mobile company was priding in educating just eight students at University," said Mt Nyatega.
He said the government this financial year allocated HESLB Sh117 billion that was however more than Sh20 billion short of their requirements.
He said despite a rise every year in the amounts given by the state, the number of beneficiaries has quadrupled, from 16,345 in 2004/05 to 55,685 this year.
The financial difficulties at the board have also been confounded by lack of goodwill by those who benefited in the past to repay.
A loans recovery director said told the meeting that almost Sh50 billion has not been repaid by former students starting in 1994.
Records indicate as at last month, only Sh1.1 billion had been recovered from 10,701 beneficiaries out of 113,240 people.
Mr Nyatega said five private debt collectors have lately been hired to reach out to every region in efforts to speed up the recovery rate.
Mr Nyatega said if funds could stream in as planned, the board was discussing the possibility of issuing grants other than loans to science oriented students, to promote the development of science and technology as Tanzania's needed core human resource base for rapid development.
He appealed for cooperation from stakeholders to make its work smooth.
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