Students applying for loans from the Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) for the upcoming academic year will not be required to pay application and processing fees to the lending agency.

“I want to take the opportunity to remind all respective applicants that notwithstanding the challenges posed by COVID-19, the Students’ Loan Bureau remains open for business,” Clarke said.

Earlier when the Standing Finance Committee was reviewing the revised budget, Clarke told his parliamentary colleagues that with the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer students have approached the SLB to access loans.

Data from the SLB shows that prior to COVID-19, some 99 per cent of applicants received loans.

Despite the deferral of $2.7 billion in allocation to the SLB in the budget this fiscal year, the lending agency still has enough resources to offer loans to students this year.