Help software awareness to begin next month

AWARENESS of the software to process the Higher Education Loan Programme (Help) will begin next month, an official says.
Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST) deputy secretary Leah Margis said the department would try as much as possible to roll out the awareness to all institutions in the country.
The software to process Help was launched early this month by Prime Minister James Marape.
Margis said the current focus of the programme would be on the undergraduate students.
“Later on this year, we may be establishing postgraduate students’ data that may then enable us to create application portals for postgraduate students in the country,” she said.
“We hope to later work on other phases of overseas studies.”
Margis said Help and the national online applications would work together.
“These two have to work together because after sitting for the national examinations, the grade 12 students may wish to apply for Help for their studies next year,” she said.
The repayment of the loan by the students to the state will have no interest added and no time limitation given.
Margis said the rate to repay the money will depend on the salary or wage of the applicant after finding a job.
She said there was no possibility of the applicants escaping from repaying the loans because they would still be traced using their data, especially the national identification number and the grade 12 certificate number.
“This is the first year of Help. We will see how things go from the experience of the applicants who are in their final year this year,” she said.