Dr. Roger Nesbeth, JP

Higher Education (HE) has always played an important role in societies globally because it is through HE that people are equipped to lead, innovate, and execute in the various sectors of their societies thereby making life better, and more meaningful to fellow citizens. The affordability of HE is important because, in addition to facilitating the existence and development of societies, it directly facilitates the development of individuals. HE by its nature supports and grapples with the issue of continuing access to the poor and vulnerable who are not able to afford the high costs associated with HE.

It is within this context that provision has been made for Student Loan Systems (SLS) with the sole purpose of enabling poor and vulnerable students to access HE institutions. This provision is important bearing in mind the increasingly marketised nature of contemporary HE. The HE environment is characterised by competition among institutions, and competition among students seeking access to HE institutions. Access to HE is an important issue, especially for the poor who do not possess the financial resources required to enrol in programmes offered by HE institutions. While there have been discussions on the need to substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular, least developed countries and small island developing countries for enrolment in HE; contemporary economics and practice in many of these countries make this approach prohibitive. It is to this end that SLS are very important in facilitating increased access to HE institutions.