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Educational loan program pushed back
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Posted on Jun 04 1999
The proposed educational loan for students attending college will not be implemented this coming school year as earlier scheduled and will instead take effect in the later part of 2000.
Special Adviser for Education Dan Nielsen said a Request For Information will be out this month asking banks and financial institutions to explore the possibility of setting up a loan program for the CNMI Scholarship Office.
This exploratory process would require time and the government does not expect to finalize the educational loan program until next year.
Nielsen said the Request for Proposals will follow after the exploratory talks whereby studies will be forwarded to the Legislature for consideration.
The CNMI government earlier discussed the educational loan with the recipients of the local grant. The proposed scheme will take the place of the Educational Assistance Program as part of efforts of the government to move away from the “free assistance” mentality in subsidizing college education for its population.
With the loan program, students will need to apply in order to secure assistance from the government. It is not automatic like the way local grants are being accessed by students and they need to pay the amount after they have completed their college education. The government, however, plans to waive 10 percent from their loan for every year of service in the CNMI.
According to Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, the loan program will encourage commitment from students and will ensure the number of successful graduates.
While preparations for the loan program is still in progress, the CNMI government will continue to extend financial assistance under the mandated grants. Recipients of the Full Scholarship grant and the Teachers Academy program will continue to receive their financial help from the local government.
