Student nurses demand payment of study loans Irate students from Oshakati Regional Health Training Centre say their unemployed and lowly paid parents are forced to borrow money to pay their tuition fees because their study loans have not been paid. The claim was made on Tuesday during the handing over of a petition by about 100 student nurses who marched from the Oshakati State Hospital to the Namibia Students'' Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) office in Ongwediva to demand the disbursement of their study loans.
“Our unemployed and lowly paid parents have to keep borrowing and fall into debt to sustain our studies while we have that provision that is supposed to bail us out. But instead, the rich are busy stealing the money to enrich themselves more,” read the petition in part.
The petition was read by student representative, Hironimus Kandongo.
He said the students are not happy with NSFAF and the delayed payments of their study loans which the students allege are not paid sometimes regardless of the fact that nursing is among professions given priority for study loans.
“According to the enactment Act of NSFAF, act 26 of 2000, nursing is one of the priority fields of study given study loans. It is number one on the list but when it comes to payment the scenario is vice versa,” Kandongo said.
“We students of nursing are supposed to live in harmony for us to be able to provide good nursing care to patients and clients.”
The students questioned how they are expected to effectively perform their duties and excel in their studies without prescribed books and walking long distances to classes when they run out of taxi money.
The students further questioned why there are delays in the disbursement of their study loan payments while other institutions of higher learning get theirs on
time.
The students also threatened to involve the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) if their demands are not met by next week Monday.
“We want to let your office know that this is just the beginning and we only give NSFAF and NAMIC until end of this month to avail our money or else we will follow legal procedures that will include the Anti-Corruption Commission,” Kandongo said.
The petition was received by NSFAF representative in Oshana Region, Warde Warde, who promised to get answers for the non-payment of study loans and delays.
Warde pleaded with the students to be patient while their grievances are being looked into.
KENYA KAMBOWE