HESLB Tanzania - GUIDELINES AND CRITERIA FOR ISSUANCE OF STUDENTS’ LOANS AND GRANTS.
IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL LOAN APPLICANTS
HESLB - Online Loan Application and Management System (olas)
OVERVIEW
- The Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) was established by Act No. 9 of 2004 and became effective in July 2005. HESLB is mandated to, among others, issue loans and or grants to needy and eligible students.
- Read and follow application procedures stated in these guidelines
- Ensure that the Form Four Index Number provided when applying for loans matches with the one used in your application for admission;
- Ensure that all documents submitted to support your application have been certified by relevant authorities as specified in the guidelines;
- Ensure that all birth/death certificates and other certificates are certified by Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA), and Zanzibar Civil Status Registration Agency (ZCSRA) “Wakala wa Usajili wa Matukio ya Kijamii Zanzibar “or the designated officer(s) to ascertain their validity;
- Ensure all Birth certificates for students who were born in foreign countries are certified by respective Embassies located in the United Republic of Tanzania. Also Death Certificates for Tanzanian Parents who died in foreign countries are certified by respective Embassies.
- Ensure that your application form is dully filled and signed before submission;
- Applications must be completed with correct (and accurate) details;
- All applicants are advised to keep a copy of complete package of the application form submitted to HESLB for future reference (if required) and
- All applicants must strictly observe the set application deadline.
ELIGIBILITY
HESLB Act and regulations provide for General Eligibility and Criteria for applicants seeking loans. NEEDY and ELIGIBLE applicants may apply for loans and/or grants to meet part, or full costs of their education.Needy Applicant
In addition to general eligibility, additional criteria define NEEDY applicant who should not exceed 35 years of age at the time of application, who may:-- Be a poor orphan (who has lost both parents – full orphan) or partial orphan (who has lost one parent) has to be certified by RITA, Zanzibar Civil Status Registration Agency (ZCSRA) “Wakala wa Usajili wa Matukio ya Kijamii Zanzibar “and respective Embassies located in the United Republic of Tanzania (URT).
- Be poor disabled student whose disability shall have to be certified by the District Medical Officer (DMO), Regional Medical Officer (RMO), or any entity authorized to certify such cases (as may be specified).
- Have poor parents with disability to be certified by the District Medical Officer (DMO), Regional Medical Officer (RMO), or any entity authorized to certify such cases (as may be specified).
- Be from lower income household and/or marginalized community whose secondary school or diploma education was sponsored by recognised institutions. Applicants will be required to provide written and authenticated evidence of such sponsorships whose ability shall be determined by Means-test result score.
- Be from lower income household and/or marginalized community, who is under Special Economic Support Programs for example TASAF. They should provide the program beneficiary’s number as a proof.
General Eligibility Criteria as Pronounced by the Act
General Eligibility criteria require an applicant to meet the following conditions: -- Must be a Tanzanian;
- Must have applied for a loan through the Online Loan Application and Management System (OLAMS);
- Must have been admitted to an accredited Higher Learning Institution on full time basis except for Students Admitted at the Open University of Tanzania (OUT).
- Must not have funding from other sources.
- Must be a continuing student with results/progress reports to show that he/she has passed the examinations necessary to enable him/her to advance to the following year or stage of study.
- For a student’s loans beneficiary seeking to re-apply for loans after dropping out from one programme/college/university) he/she must repay at least 25% of their previous loans before applying for a new loan. (Note: Payment of 25% of the previously granted loans is not a guarantee for new loans allocation).
Other Eligibility Criteria
- Loans shall be allocated in the order of established Neediness, and programme clustering.
- Continuing Students applying for loans for the first time must have completed ACSEE or other equivalent qualifications within Five (5) years, i.e. from 2015-2019 inclusive.
- All other applicants who secured admission to pursue various degree programmes in the academic year 2019/2020 must have completed their ACSEE or other equivalent qualifications within three (3) years, i.e. from 2017-2019 inclusive.
PROGRAMME CLUSTERS
After establishing applicant’s neediness, and meeting requirements under sections 3.1 and 3.2 above, the following programme clusters will be used to determine the loans to be issued in priority order subject to availability of funds.Cluster I
Courses under cluster (I) include: -- Education and Teaching in Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics
- Health Sciences (Doctor of Medicine, Dental Surgery, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Midwifery, Prosthetics and Orthotics, Physiotherapy, Biotechnology and Laboratory sciences, Radiotherapy Technology);
- Engineering Programmes (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Mining, Mineral and Processing, Textile, Chemical and Processing, Agriculture, Food and Processing, Automobile, Industrial, Maritime Transportation, Marine Technology, Electronics and Telecommunication, and Bio-Processing and Post-Harvest), Water and Irrigation, Petroleum and Gas, and electrical, Bachelor Degree in Aircraft and Maintenance Engineering and Bachelor of Bio-medical engineering Programme.
- Petroleum Geology, Petroleum Chemistry
- Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Sciences and Production Management
Cluster II
Courses under cluster (II) include:- Basic Science Programmes (BSc General, BSc in/with Applied Zoology, Botanical, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Aquatic Environmental Sciences and Conservation, Geology, Mathematics and Statistics, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Health, Wildlife and Conservation), ICT Legal and ICT and Programming, Information Systems and Network Management, Environmental, Urban Development and Industrial Metrology.
- Land Science Programmes (Architecture, Landscape and Architecture, Interior Design, Building Survey, Building Economics, Urban and Regional Planning, Land Management and Valuation, and Geospatial Technology).
Cluster III
Courses under cluster (III) include:- Courses under this cluster include Business and Management Studies, Social Sciences, Arts, Humanities, Law and Legal Studies, Languages, Literature, Media and Communications Studies.
- All other courses not listed in either of the clusters, will fall under Cluster III.
LOAN ITEMS, MEANS TESTING AND AMOUNTS TO BE ALLOCATED
HESLB may provide loans to cover all or some of the following items:-- Meals, Accommodation and Incidentals (MAI)
- Tuition Fee (TF)
- Books and Stationery Expenses (BSE)
- Special Faculty Requirements (SFR)
- Research Expenses (RE)
- Field Practical Training (FPT)
Means Testing System
- Means Testing (MT) will be used to determine applicants’ neediness for financial assistance. School Fees paid in CSEE, ACSEE and equivalent qualifications including diplomas is one of the factors considered to establish an individual’s ability to contribute to the costs of higher education. Other factors that are taken into consideration are orphaned, disability, sponsorship and poor family.
- Therefore, the neediness shall be measured as a difference between total annual costs to pursue individual programme at respective Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs) and established applicant’s past ability to pay for secondary school education or diploma as an indication of the applicants’ ability to contribute to the costs of higher education.
Distribution of Loanable Items
- Loans to successful applicants will be allocated starting with Meals, Accommodation and Incidentals (MAI); Tuition Fee (TF) then Books and Stationery Expenses (BSE), followed by Special Faculty Requirements (SFR), Research Expenses (RE) and finally Field Practical Training (FPT) based on the remaining amount from the preceding loan items.
Approved Tuition Fee Rates
- Maximum applicable tuition fees for all successful loan applicants shall be pegged to the equivalent current-approved-highest-tuition-fees payable to Public Higher Learning Institutions.
Continuing students who are loan beneficiaries
- All continuing loan beneficiaries shall continue to receive their loans as per their original Means Test Grades upon submission of examination results/progress reports. All continuing loan beneficiaries ARE NOT REQUIRED TO RE-APPLY for loans.
Payment Mode:
- MAI, BSE, FPT and RE items shall be paid directly to students while TF and SFR shall be paid to the respective Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs).
OVERSEAS LOAN APPLICANTS (UNDERGRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE)
- Eligible students for loans admitted to pursue studies overseas must fulfil General Eligibility Criteria set in Section 2.1 above.
- In addition to the General Eligibility Criteria set in Section 3.2 above, only overseas applicants selected by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology will be eligible for top up stipend loans not exceeding USD 5400 per annum. The students have to be selected to pursue studies overseas under bilateral agreements between the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and foreign governments.
OTHER CONDITIONS FOR ISSUANCE OF LOANS
Liability of Guarantors and Parents
- Parents/Guarantors are responsible for confirmation of correctness (and accuracy) of information submitted in the application forms before signing. The guarantors are expected to ensure that loans are repaid and must be aware of the borrowers’ whereabouts until the loans are fully repaid. In case of default, guarantors shall be responsible to settle the due /unpaid loan in full.
The Guarantor is required to append a photo and a certified copy either of the following Identification cards;
- National Identification card.
- Voter’s registration card.
- Driving License.
- Tanzanian Passport
- Zanzibar Resident ID
HESLB - Loan Repayment
Upon completion or termination from higher education studies, a loan beneficiary shall be required to repay his/her loan through monthly deductions of not less than 15% of salary/income. Amount payable by a self-employed beneficiary shall not be less than 100,000/= per month.Loan Repayment Requirements
Value Retention Fee
- To ensure sustainability of the loan scheme, a Value Retention Fee (VRF) equivalent to 6% per annum from the date of receiving loan items is charged.
Loan Administration Fee (LA)
- All students’ loans shall be subjected to 1% Loan Administration fee payable once
Penalty Fee (PF)
- A beneficiary who fails to repay his/her loan after expiration of grace period of 24 months after graduation, shall be charged a 10% one-time-penalty.
INTER-UNIVERSITY AND INTERNAL TRANSFERS
- HESLB shall not raise a duplicate loan payment to such students who voluntarily move to other HLIs. Upon receiving confirmation from relevant authorities, a loan transfer will be effected. No loan transfers will be made 120 days after release of first batch of admission. All Transfers will not trigger any change on the original loan amounts allocated to individual beneficiaries.
List of Candidates admitted to Higher Learning Institutions
- HESLB will consider loan application from students whose admissions have been approved and submitted by relevant authorities including the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) and/or respective HLIs as the case may be.
MODE OF APPLICATION
- All loan applications will be done through Online Loan Application and Management System (OLAMS). Applicants are REMINDED to use the same Form Four Index Numbers used while applying for admissions.
- Upon completion of online application process, applicants shall be required to print out the application forms and Loan Agreements, obtain appropriate authentications, sign the forms, attach necessary documents and upload into OLAMS before submitting the same through EMS to:
46 Sam Nujoma, Mwenge S. L. P. 76068,
14113 Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA.
- Applicants are REMINDED to keep full set of the loan applications, attachments submitted, and EMS receipts used for mailing their applications to HESLB for easy tracking when necessary.
LOAN APPLICATION FEE
- Applicants must pay a non-refundable, one-off application fee of TZS 30,000.00 through GePG vide NMB, CRDB, TPB, Vodacom M-PESA, TIGO PESA, and AIRTEL MONEY For details visit: https://olas.heslb.go.tz
Source:- HESLB