P60,000 short-term loan with zero interest program now accepting applicants
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Thursday posted “call for first batch applicants of student loan program for tertiary education” in their twitter account. Along with the post is CHED memorandum dated July 22, 2019.
Student Loan Program (SLP) is a Short-term loan with an initial P1 billion allocation is mandated by Republic Act 10391 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education for college students. College students may now apply for loans amounting to as much as P60,000 to cover their tuition and other education expenses.
According to CHED, the students may use the loan for tuition and other school fees, books, tools, equipment, stipend and payment for review in licensure exams.
READ: Short-Term Loan Guidelines and Application Process
Students enrolled in CHED-recognized local colleges and universities, state colleges, universities and, and private higher education institutions listed in the UNIFAST Registry of Institutions and Programs can avail of it. But the main beneficiaries of this will be students in private universities, because in public universities there are no more tuition and miscellaneous.Students taking medicine and law, including post-graduate degrees, are also allowed to apply for loans.
To encourage repayment, he said they agreed that the interest rate of six percent per annum will be waived for those who will be able to repay the loan within the academic term.
One important feature is, if you have loan and if you pay it within the year, there'll be no interest. And, if students have good payment standing, and upon the approval of UNIFAST, they can loan again and again.
This is partnership between CHED and DBP is the long-awaited final component of RA 10931 to help needy students pursue undergraduate and graduate studies in public and private schools,
Students can apply for a loan with their respective schools, who will then forward the applications to CHED for approval. The commission will then endorse students’ applications to DBP, which will advise students to open accounts at its nearest branch.
Under the program, short term loans will have 0% interest, as long as students repay the borrowed amount on or before the end of the semester.
If students fail to repay their loan by then, an interest rate of 6% will be charged for the academic year the loan was taken out.
