By MAIMBO MWEEMBA
Over 8000 eligible students at the University of Zambia (UNZA) have not been awarded student loans for the 2021/2022 academic year.
Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board (HELSB) senior corporate communications officer Chiselwa Kawanda attributed this to budgetary constraints.
The board has however awarded student loans to 2,481 eligible first year students at UNZA for the academic year.
And Ms Chiselwa Kawanda,the board received a total number of 10,682 applications, out of which 6,150 are male while 4,532 are female representing 58% and 42%.
Speaking in a statement, Ms Kawanda said of the total number received, 10,485 applicants were eligible for the award of student loans while 197 were ineligible.
She said the board also said the ineligible applicants are as a result of completing Grade 12 before 2017, non-attachment of required documents to the student loan application, having been already awarded students loans at other Universities and being non-Zambians.
“A total of 1,340 of the awarded applicants are male while 1,141 are female representing 54% and 46%, respectively, and 1,040 students awarded are from rural districts while 1,441 are from urban districts representing 42% and 58%,” she said.
Ms Kawanda said all the 39 applicants living with disabilities have been awarded student loans.
