Government has announced plans to put in place a tougher law to expedite the recovery of over Rwf64bn in students’ loans issued since the 1980s. Thousands of Rwandans have gone through university using this scheme.

Currently, Rwanda Education Board says over 50,000 former beneficiaries of the loan scheme have not paid back this money.

The former beneficiaries should not wait for a law to come into force before they start paying. Most of them have the capacity to pay because they are in jobs, with some having been working for years.

They should bear in mind that there are other Rwandans who still need the loans to also go through university. Defaulting means that your denying another person a chance to access university education. Therefore, pay back in the same spirit to enable other beneficiaries in waiting get an opportunity as well. 

For those who remain reluctant to pay up, the law, once out should make sure all loopholes are closed; for example making clearance of  this debt should be a necessity for eligibility to access certain services like participating in a public tenders, among others.

Employers should ensure that all their employees who benefitted from the scheme are paying up.

Finally, the awareness on the drive to recover this money should be scaled up, because some of the former beneficiaries still say that they do not have knowledge on how they are supposed to refund the money.