People’s Bank teams with UGC to provide loans for students to buy laptops
View(s):Laptops among most required items for university students, especially due to the COVID situation
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to introduce a loan scheme for university students to purchase laptops, UGC Chairman Prof. Sampath Amaratunga said.
Under the scheme loans up to Rs 100,000 will be provided through People’s Bank, at a reduced interest rate. Prof. Amaratunga said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had proposed to introduce the loan scheme.
The UGC had already conducted discussions with People’s Bank and the Treasury about the proposed loan scheme. Three different loan schemes had been proposed during the discussions.
One such loan scheme would be for the students to pay only the loan interest for a period of four years, while they were in university, and the capital after they graduated. Another loan scheme discussed was for students to pay the capital and the interest of the loan after leaving university.
The option of paying the capital and interest from the time the loan was obtained was also another option available for the students.
During the discussions People’s Bank representatives had said they planned to provide loans to students up to a value of Rs 10 billion, Prof. Amaratunga said.
“We plan to encourage students to purchase laptops belonging to high-quality brands, which can be used for a minimum of four years,” he said.
He also said all students could apply for the loans.
Prof. Amaratunga said a survey was carried out with the help of the Asian Development Bank, to identify the important needs of the students.
Through this survey it was revealed that a laptop was one of the items students mainly required.
“The online teaching system has become a necessity particularly due to the COVID-19 situation. We hope to further expand university courses to be carried out online,” he said. ( C )