Samia’s 2024/2025 scholarship programme to benefit 700 students
ARUSHA: APPROXIMATELY 700 higher education students in Tanzania are set to benefit from President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s scholarship programme for the 2024/2025 academic year.
Dr Charles Mkombachepa, the Acting Administrative Secretary of Arusha Region, announced this on Wednesday.
He emphasised that, in addition to increasing funding for higher education loans, the scholarship programme, particularly focused on science studies, aims to cultivate a new generation of experts in this critical field.
Dr Mkombachepa was speaking on behalf of the Arusha Regional Commissioner during the opening of the 13th two-day working session of the Higher Education Students Loans Board (HESLB), which brought together loan officers and student representatives in Arusha.
He noted that over 3.6 bn/- have been allocated for President Samia’s scholarship, benefiting approximately 700 students. He also shared that the sixth-phase government under President Samia has expanded its scholarship offerings to include diploma students, with an allocation of 24.8 bn/- to support 7,000 individuals.
Overall, the government has set aside 787bn/- for higher education loans through HESLB for the current academic year.
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Dr Bill Kiwia, the Executive Director of HESLB, highlighted that the working session, attended by more than 200 participants, will cover various topics, including the successes and challenges faced in loan provision during the 2023/2024 academic year.
He noted the organisation’s shift to a paperless operation due to significant investments in IT systems. Dr Peter Mmary, the Director of Allocation and Disbursement at HESLB, emphasised that this session offers a chance to assess last year’s loan disbursement performance.
For the upcoming academic year, HESLB anticipates providing loans to a total of 252,000 students, including 80,000 first-year students.
In the previous year, 79,200 firstyear students received loans, exceeding the target of 75,000, while 146,000 continuing students also benefited from higher education loans.
