Govt says 2,672 students awarded loans for 2023/24 academic year at UNZA

The Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board (HELSB) has awarded loans to 2,672 eligible first-year students at the University of Zambia (UNZA) for the 2023/2024 academic year.

HELSB Senior Corporate Communications Officer, Chiselwa Kawanda, said 5,094 applications were received for sponsorship at UNZA.

Kawanda in a statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday said out of this number, 5,012 applicants were eligible and 82 were ineligible for sponsorship, representing 98 percent and two percent, respectively.

She stated that the ineligible applicants were as a result of completing Grade 12 before 2019 and non-attachment of required documents to the student loan application,.

“The ineligible applicants were found to be older than 24 years of age, having University acceptance/admission letters from the past academic years,” Kawanda explained.

She said others included students admitted under Diploma programmes, applicants admitted under unsupported study modes such as distance or evening learning and applicants awarded student loans under other Universities.

Kawanda revealed that HELSB received 17 applications from students living with disabilities, nine male and nine female and that all the applicants had been awarded.

“Out of the 2,674 awarded applicants, 1,297 are from rural districts and 1,377 are from urban districts representing a ratio of 49 percent and 51 percent respectively,” she said.

Kawanda highlighted that HELSB was currently supporting 11,087 students at UNZA.

She clarified that in order to select the 2,672, the criterion applied was 35 percent Merit, 30 percent rural affirmation, 30 percent female gender affirmation and 5 percent students living with disabilities.

“HELSB advertised student loans for school leavers that completed Grade 12 in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 with acceptance letters from University of Zambia for the 2023/2024 academic year,” Kawanda said.

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