Management of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has placed a moratorium on deferment of academic fees defaulters.
The University Council, in a consultative meeting with government through the Ministry of Education, has consequently agreed to extend the deadline for the defaulters to settle the arrears.
Speaking at a presser, the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Adu-Twum, revealed the government will support the defaulters through the Students’ Loans Trust Fund.
He therefore encouraged the defaulters to apply for the students’ loan to pay the remainder of their fees.
“The Students’ Loans Trust Fund, which has already been established in the school, is going to do more consultations with the university community and also meet the students who need support in order to pay their fees.”
“They will be here in the middle of next week and do more engagement with the students, so that the government can provide them with the necessary support,” he said.
He added that, “students can now apply for the loans and be given the money without the need for a guarantor. So no student here can say that they didn’t get any loan from the Students’ Loan Trust Fund.”
The sector Minister further revealed that his outfit and the Management of KNUST are working assiduously to ensure students on various scholarships are expunged from the list of deferred students.
“For other students who are on scholarship, we are also working hard with the University to make sure they are excluded from this challenge,” he said.
Meanwhile, some 3,550 students out of 6,000 have had their deferment reversed.
According to the University Relations Officer, Dr. Daniel Norris Bekoe, hundreds of defaulters have settled their arrears.
“We have 1,250 students out of the 6,000 who have paid up their fees within the last 24 hours. The ‘Ketewa Biara Nsua’ fund from the Dean of Students’ office is also supporting a little over 2,000 defaulters. So these students will be reinstated,” he said.
