AMMAN - The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is revisiting the Student Loan Bank project, which was supposed to begin operations this year, a senior government official said on Sunday.
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Wajih Oweis noted that no bank will give loans to students without interest, or with the presence of risk factors.
"Around 80 per cent of subjects taught in the country's universities are humanities, and it is not easy for students to find job opportunities immediately after graduation to pay back the loans," he said yesterday at the press conference to announce the beneficiaries of the ministry's scholarships and loans.
Owais added that the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) will implement a pilot project aiming to help students finance their education that could serve as a model for other universities.
The initiative, according to the minister, includes establishing a bank at JUST to be funded by donors or projects.
The planned Student Loan Bank was projected to extend interest-free loans to cover the costs of educating about 30 per cent of the Kingdom's university students, through a commercial bank.
The plan also included provisions for the government to provide the bank with collateral and pay the interest on the loans on behalf of the students through a "guarantee fund".
The ministry seeks to support students who need funds for their education, but "we have to talk to the private sector to provide the ministry's Students Support Fund with donations", Owais explained.
He noted that the ministry this year issued 5,921 scholarships and extended 14,473 loans through the Students Support Fund, while the King Abdullah Fund for Development funded 309 scholarships and the Princess Muna Scholarship Fund for Nursing provided 30 scholarships for female nurses.
© Jordan Times 2011
