The interest-free student loans Scheme(IFSLS) offered by the Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education (MOE) will begin taking applications for its 8th intake for the academic year 2023/24. The loan scheme was launched in 2017 under the collaboration of the Ministry of Finance and National Policies, the three state banks (Bank of Ceylon, - as of this year – People’s Bank and the National Savings Bank) and the Ministry of Education. The loan scheme seeks to support Sri Lankan students pursuing their tertiary education after completing their G.C.E. Advanced Level examinations.

The 8th intake will allow 7, 000 students to pursue their first degree at 18 non-state higher education institutions. Ms Chandima Janaki, Additional Secretary (Non-State Higher Education), Ministry of Education, revealed that the IFSLS supports students to pursue 110 degree programmes in 18 specified nonstate higher education institutes. Accordingly, they can follow several courses under five subject streams:

• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Management and Commerce
• Science
• Engineering & Technology
• Information and Communication Technology

As Ms Janaki revealed, of the approximately 300,000 students who take their GCE A/L exams, only 175,000 students are qualified for university entrance. Of this number, the 17 state universities can accommodate approximately 45,000 students. “Out of the 27 non-state Higher Education institutions approved by the Ministry of Education under the provisions of section 25A of the Universities Act no 16 of 1978, only 18 institutes are eligible for the loan scheme,” Ms Janaki stated. “Most students can’t afford to pay for their undergraduate degrees.

That’s why the government has introduced this loan scheme to help the students to pursue a degree at non-state higher education institutes and thereby augment human capital development in the country”. The Non State higher education Institutes included in the IFSLS are, the Sri Lanka Institute Of Information Technology (SLIIT), National School Of Business Management (NSBM), Cinec Campus (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka Institute Of Buddhist Academy (SIBA), Institute Of Chartered Accountants Of Sri Lanka, Sanasa Campus (Pvt) Ltd, Horizon College Of Business And Technology (Pvt) Ltd, KIU Campus (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka Technological Campus (Pvt) Ltd, Saegis Campus (Private) Limited, Esoft Metro Campus (Pvt) Ltd, Aquinas College Of Higher Studies, Institute Of Chemistry Ceylon (ICHEM), International College Of Business Technology (ICBT), Benedict XVI Catholic Institute (BCI), Royal Institute Colombo (Pvt) Ltd (RIC), Nagananda International Institute For Buddhist Studies(NIIBS) and Business Management School (BMS). Students who have passed GCE A/L examinations conducted by the Department of Examinations, in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and have been qualified for university entrance are entitled to apply for the IFSLS for the academic year 2023/24. To be deemed eligible for the loan, they must have;

1. obtained simple (S) passes for all three subjects in the same sitting and not exceeding three sittings, and

2. a minimum of 30 marks for the Common General Test at any sitting without exceeding three sittings (The result must be obtained at the time of interviews conducted), and

3. a minimum of simple (S) pass for General English at the G.C.E (A/L) Examination or a minimum of simple (S) pass for English Language at the G.C.E (O/L) Examination, and

4. be 26 years or below by 20th October 2024.

According to the IFSLS Student Handbook, candidates who have not qualified for university admission via the GCE A/L Physical Science stream nor obtained at least a simple pass (S) for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at the GCE A/L, in any attempt at the GCE A/L Examination must follow the following bridging courses at selected non-state higher education institutions to get the competence of the ICT stream.

1. Foundational Mathematics (60 direct contact hours – 4 credits)

2. Computational Thinking (60 (30T+30P) direct contact hours – 3 credits)

3. English and Communication Skills (30 direct contact hours – 2 credits)

The IFSLS requires two guarantors – a parent of the student (or guardian in the absence of parents at the recommendation of the MOE) as the first guarantor and an individual accepted by the bank as the second guarantor. Ms Janaki stated that the MOE will not take the age or income level of the first guarantor into consideration. Under the IFSLS, selected students will receive loan amounts per their chosen four-year degree programme.

Therefore, the eligible students from the 8th intake will receive;

• Humanities and Social Sciences Rs 800,000
• Management and Commerce Rs 900,000
• Science (Biological/ Bio-Medical) Science (Chemical) Rs 1,200,000
• Science (Physical) Rs 1,000,000
• Engineering and Technology Engineering Rs 1,500,000
• Bio-Technology Rs 1,000,000
• Engineering and Technology Rs 1,000,000
• Information and Communication Technology Bachelor of Computer Science Rs 800,000
• Bachelor of Science Rs 1,000,000

Students who wish to complete a threeyear degree programme will receive;

• Humanities and Social Sciences Rs 600,000
• Management and Commerce Rs 600,000
• Engineering and Technology Rs 800,000
• Information and Communication Technology Bachelor of Computer Science Rs 600,000
• Bachelor of Science Rs 800,000

Furthermore, students may apply for a stipend to cover their day-to-day expenses separate from the above-mentioned loan schemes. Ms Niluka Jayasena-Director (Student Loans) added, “If they wish to, at their discretion, they can decide whether they want to apply for that loan as well. IFSLS provides 300,000 rupees in total for their stipend during the four years. That means the students will receive 75,000 rupees per annum (Rs 6,250 per month). This would be paid once every three months”. The interest-free loan scheme provides a grace period of one year after graduation.

After the grace period, they will have seven years and eight years (for 4 year & 3 year degree programmes respectively) during which they must repay the principal amount of the loan in equal monthly instalments. Ms Jayasena emphasised, “This loan is interest-free for the students. They don’t have to make any payment during their studies – whether their degree is completed in three or four years. They won’t have any financial commitment”. She went on to say that coupled with the grace period, the students have a maximum of five years with no financial commitments.

“The total loan period is 12 years. So they’ll have to repay in seven or eight years. That means 84 or 96 equal monthly instalments - only the principal amount,” she reiterated. To mitigate the risk of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs), certain measures are placed once the students enter into an agreement with the MOE and the banks. Should students default on their payments, their names will be blacklisted at the Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka (CRIB) as loan defaulters until they pay the sum in person. The MOE has also connected its systems with the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

Therefore, should a student wish to migrate, they are required to pay the entire sum of the loan they have obtained prior to migrating. Students who wish to obtain the loan can apply online through www.studentloans. mohe.gov.lk. Students who do not have access to online facilities and submit their applications via;

1. The National Online Distance Education System (NODES) Access Centers- NACs located at regional centres of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL)

2. Provincial and Zonal Information and Communication Centers (ICT) established under the Ministry of Education

3. Nanasala Centers established under the Information & Communication Technology Agency (ICTA)

4. In addition, applicants can use their own access points to access online 5. application published on the www.studentloans. mohe.gov.lk, the website of the Ministry of Education, (Higher Education Division).