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Gov’t must prevent Teachers’ Revolving Loan Fund to go dry – Waite

Tuesday, 09 February 2010

The Opposition is raising questions about the future of the Teachers' Revolving Loan Fund.

Reports are that the scheme has run out of money which has left several teachers facing the threat of being de-registered by tertiary institutions due to the non-payment of approved loans.

Senator Basil Waite, Opposition Spokesman on Education, is calling on Minister Andrew Holness to quickly address the situation.

In a release on Monday, Senator Waite said the issue has left a question mark beside the government's stated commitment to the development of education.

Senator Basil Waite, Spokesman on Education.

"Part of the education transformation is to focus on the licensing and professional development of our teachers as we drive towards greater levels of accountability. The Fund was establish to facilitate those objectives because many of our teachers are unable to qualify for the traditional student loans based on the means test that is now applied and to allow this Fund to be insufficiently endowed is nothing short of irresponsible of the part of the administration," Mr. Waite said.

The $500 million Revolving Loan Fund was established in early 2007 to facilitate the professional advancement of teachers.

It was a core part of the education transformation programme focusing on teacher quality.

The Fund is administered by Capital and Credit Merchant Bank on behalf of the Ministry of Education.

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