This month, according to the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), the list of recipients who have chosen not to repay their loans will once again be made public.
It claimed to have located some debtors who were employed but had not paid off their obligations to the trust fund.
The SLTF has also threatened to punish the offenders if they don't take action to uphold their duties.
Yesterday, Nana Kwaku Agyei Yeboah, the Chief Executive Officer of the SLTF, dropped a clue when paying the Editor of Graphic, Theophilus Yartey, a courtesy call.
Call
The purpose of the conversation was to formally congratulate the editor on his appointment and to ask the Daily Graphic for cooperation with its educational and recovery drive.
Mr. Yeboah said that the group had been collaborating with the Daily Graphic and that this process has been ongoing.
"We are here to offer our congratulations and to discuss the SLTF and the work we are doing." You have helped us in our efforts to learn and heal. Additionally, this visit aims to improve the working connection.
"The SLTF is in the process of continuously engaging Ghanaians on the no-guarantor system to expand access to education to the most vulnerable," the SLTF CEO stated.
Mr. Yeboah stated that the idea to publish the list of defaulters was a part of the May activities for the repayment month, which the SLTF set aside to help students learn about loan repayment.
In line with the Students Loan Trust Fund Act, 2011, Act 820, the Attorney-General's Department had advised the SLTF and given the scheme the go-ahead, he said.
"Our Act empowers us to publish the photos and other details of some of our worst borrowers," he added.
The SLTF CEO went on to say that following graduation, the SLTF continued to remind borrowers of the need to repay loans they had taken while in school via text messages, letters, and other methods; nevertheless, many of them had disregarded all follow-up efforts to encourage them to pay back.
He stated that the SLTF was aiming to recover around GH50 million through its efforts during the recovery and payback month, adding that debtors may go to, among other methods, the bank to pay as well as electronic payment via mobile money.
Payment schedule
Borrowers have the option of negotiating a payment plan with the SLTF, according to Mr. Yeboah. He said, "So if we don't hear from the borrower making any attempt to pay for the period the loan travels, the law mandates us to recover through legal means."
He said that the payback was crucial to enabling future students to benefit and that the SLTF would begin by publishing the names of 40 people who owed the trust fund.
He stated that the month of May had been designated for education and stepped up the effort to let debtors know that it was their civic duty to pay.
He said, "We use this month to step up our engagements on all media platforms, both traditional and social media, to talk to Ghanaians about the loan repayment and also to sensitize people about the no-guarantor program that was launched in June last year. Sometimes, we need to remind people how to pay and where to go to make a payment.
There is a graphic to aid.
Mr. Yartey promised that the Daily Graphic would support the SLTF in achieving its goals since it had already proven to be an effective and dependable medium for reaching out to the general population.
He said that as a national media outlet with enormous reach and coverage, it had room in both the hard copy and online versions.
"We have been doing it for more than seven decades." We are prepared to help you in that effort since it is about achieving the broader government objective, as Mr. Yartey promised.
Procedure for loan recovery
The Trustee Incorporation Act of 1962, Act 106, authorized the establishment of the SLTF in December 2005.
The Trust Fund's goals are to support and assist the national principles expressed in Articles 25 and 38 of the 1992 Constitution, as well as to provide the financial resources necessary for the Trust to be managed effectively for the benefit of students.
According to SLTF Act 820, the following steps must be taken in order to recover the loans:
(1) The Board shall provide notice of demand to the borrower to make payment in a manner specified under paragraph (2) if the borrower is in default on loan repayment for a period of six consecutive months.
(2) The borrower or the guarantor must get a copy of the demand notice, which must also be published twice in a state-owned daily newspaper and sent or delivered to them at their last known residence or address.
(3) The Board must publish the borrower's or guarantor's identity in a state-owned daily newspaper if they fail to repay the loan or come up with a sufficient plan to do so in line with the demand notice.
(4) The publication must include the amount owed, a demand that it be paid within a month of the publication, and a warning that failure to do so constitutes an admission of the debt and results in a judgment against the borrower and guarantor by a Circuit Court on the amount due plus costs equal to 5% of the debt.
(5) Without giving the borrower or guarantor any more notice, the board will move to execute or enforce the ruling for the proper amount to be recovered from the loan or any balance that is still owed.