Teacher Trainee allowance not converted to loan facility – SLTF

Managers of the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) say they have only been tasked with the disbursement of teacher trainee allowances, rebutting reports that the allowance has been converted into a loan facility.
“For the avoidance of doubt we would like to state that, in line with Government policy to restore the allowance effective 2017/2018 academic year, the Ministry of Education has mandated the Students Loan Trust Fund to disburse the allowances. It is NOT a loan, and trainees will not be required to pay back as has been erroneously reported,” said a statement released by Senior Communication Manager for SLTF, George Ferguson Laing.
SLTF was established in December 2005 under the Trustee Incorporation Act 1962, Act 106.

As part of reforms to make accredited tertiary education more accessible to the majority of qualified Ghanaian students, the Government of Ghana passed the Student Loan Trust Fund Act, Act 820 (2011) for the efficient and effective disbursement of loans to tertiary students.

Photo: George Ferguson Laing

The Trust Fund has the responsibility to recover loans from students after the completion of their tertiary education.

The principal objectives of the Trust Fund are to provide financial resources for the sound management of the Trust for the benefit of students and to help promote and facilitate the national ideals enshrined in Article 25 and 38 of the 1992 Constitution.

Read the full statement from the SLTF below.

Payment of Teacher Trainee allowances Through the Students Loan Trust Fund

The Management of the Students Loan Trust Fund has monitored with keen interest some media reports which seem to suggest that the teacher trainee allowance has been converted into a loan facility by the Government.

For the avoidance of doubt we would like to state that, in line with Government policy to restore the allowance effective 2017/2018 academic year, the Ministry of Education has mandated the Students Loan Trust Fund to disburse the allowances.

It is NOT a loan, and trainees will not be required to pay back as has been erroneously reported.

The Student Loan Trust Fund has been mandated by the Government to facilitate the payment of the allowance to trainees because it has the required systems and structures to do so. In a recent meeting with the Principals of the Colleges of Education (PRINCOF), the Trust Fund emphasised the need for the Principals to furnish it with lists of eligible students and other essential information in order for the allowances to be speedily disbursed.




The disbursement of the allowances is an added service the Trust Fund is providing for the education sector in Ghana, and does not in any way detract from its core mandate which is to provide subsidised loans for Ghanaian tertiary students studying in accredited institutions nationwide.

The Student Loan Trust Fund will approach this new task with the same diligence it has applied in providing equal access to tertiary financing since 2006/07 academic year.

The management of the disbursement process will lead to the following benefits:

1.            Reduction of human influence over the procedure, due to the automation of the process.

2.            Validation of students’ information to avoid payments to individuals that are not eligible.

3.            Greater transparency and accountability.

For more information or interview opportunities, please contact:

George Ferguson Laing

Senior Communications Manager

Students Loan Trust Fund

Source:Myjoyonline