The government does not have a problem collecting the tertiary loan from students under the Tertiary Education Loan Scheme over a 10 or 15 year period, as long as they pay their loans.
While speaking in the 2017/2018 Budget Roadshow held at USP, Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said a lot of people are not honest in their dealings, they get their qualifications and go overseas and they do not contribute back to the country.
He says there is no stopping a person from going overseas, as long as they pay their loans because the government uses that money to spend on other younger people.
A USP student raised the issue on how the loan will be repaid and what sort of deductions will be made.
Sayed-Khaiyum replied that students only start repaying their TELS loan once they get a job and the repayment amount will be determined by their salary.
He says the government has set guidelines for deductions, so a very low percentage of the salary will be deducted.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the maximum interest rate for any TELS loan is only 1.5%.
He says students who come from low income families do not have to pay interest.
The Acting Prime Minister says on the other hand, students on the Toppers Scheme do not have to pay back the money, but serve the country.
