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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
1. Establishment of Students Loan
Scheme
2. Application of Scheme
3. Application for Loan
4. Amount of Loan
5. Interest on Loan
6. Period for repayment of loan
7. Purpose of loan
8. Award of scholarship and other
grants
9. Responsibility for Scheme
10. Committees
11. Loan agreement and guarantee
12. Registration of a borrower and
repayment by contributors
13. Repayments of loan by
non-contributors to the Social
Security and Pensions Scheme
14. Particulars to be supplied by
and on behalf of borrowers
15. Failure to repay the loan
16. Offences
17. Offence by body of persons
18. Regulations
19. Interpretation
20. Repeals and amendments
21. Commencement.
IN pursuance of the Provisional
National Defence Council
(Establishment) Proclamation 1981,
this Law is hereby made:
Section 1—Establishment of
Students Loan Scheme.
There is hereby established a
Students Loan Scheme (hereafter
referred to in this Law as "the
Scheme.").
Section 2—Application of Scheme.
(1) The Scheme shall apply to
every Ghanaian who is enrolled as
a full-time student on a course of
studies in any public tertiary
institution in Ghana (hereafter
referred to in this Law as "an
Institution").
(2) Notwithstanding subsection
(1) of this section, the Scheme
may be made applicable to such
Ghanaian part-time students in
public tertiary institutions as
may be determined by the
Secretary.
(3) A student to whom this Law
applies may, on admission into an
institution or where he is already
on admission, until he completes
his course of studies or leaves
the institution, apply under
section 3 of this Law for a loan
for the purposes specified in
section 7 of this Law as if the
student were a person of full age,
whether or not he is in fact of
full age.
Section 3—Application for Loan.
(1) An application for a loan
under this Law shall be made to
the Social Security and National
Insurance Trust (hereafter in this
Law referred to as "the Trust").
(2) The application shall be in
such form and shall be accompanied
by such documents as the Trust
shall determine.
Section 4—Amount of Loan.
The amount of loan to be granted
to a student (hereafter in this
Law referred to as "a borrower")
under the Scheme shall be such sum
as may from time to time be
determined by the Trust with the
approval of the Secretary.
Section 5—Interest on Loan.
The rate of interest chargeable on
a loan granted under section 4 of
this Law shall be at the average
treasury bill rate for the year
except that the borrower shall pay
as interest three per cent per
annum on the reducing balance of
the loan and the Government shall
pay the remaining interest.
Section 6—Period for Repayment of
Loan.
(1) The period for the repayment
of a loan granted under this Law
shall in respect of the different
categories of courses of studies
be determined by the Trust but
shall not exceed ten years.
(2) A borrower shall commence
repayment of the loan as soon as
he is engaged in employment after
the completion of his course of
studies.
(3) For the purposes of the
repayment or the recovery of a
loan granted under this Law and
the interest on it, a borrower
shall be treated in every respect
as if he were a person of full
age.
Section 7—Purpose of Loan.
A
borrower shall apply the loan to
defray personal expenses including
the cost of boarding, lodging,
books, equipment and for such
other purposes as may be necessary
for his course of studies.
Section 8—Award of Scholarship and
Other Grants.
(1) The Government may in each
year award scholarships' bursaries
and other grants to Ghanaian
students in tertiary institutions
in Ghana.
(2) Notwithstanding any other
provision in this Law to the
contrary, no person shall be
eligible to apply for a loan under
this Law where before his
admission into a public tertiary
institution or during his course
of studies in the institution, he
obtains a scholarship, an award, a
bursary or any grant from the
Government of Ghana or from any
other public funded source and the
amount of the scholarship award,
bursary or grant is equal to or
exceeds the maximum loan payable
under the Scheme at the time of
the grant of the scholarship,
award, bursary or grant.
Section 9—Responsibility for
Scheme.
(1) The Trust shall be
responsible for the operation and
administration of the Scheme.
(2) For the purposes of
subsection (1) of this section the
Trust may—
(a) grant all loans under the
Scheme;
(b) recover all loans in
accordance with the provisions of
this Law or any other enactment;
(c) enter into contracts in
respect of the loans;
(d) take legal action to recover
the loans;
(e) do all things necessary for
or incidental to the purposes of
this Law.
Section 10—Committees.
The Trust may, for the effective
operation and administration of
the Scheme in consultation with
the Secretary, appoint committees
comprising members of the Trust,
non-members or both and may assign
to the committees such functions
as it considers necessary for the
effective implementation of this
Law.
Section 11—Loan Agreement and
Guarantee.
(1) No loan shall be granted to a
borrower under this Law unless the
borrower enters into an agreement
with the Trust for repayment of
the loan in accordance with the
provisions of this Law and the
loan is guaranteed by three
persons who are contributors to
the Social Security Pensions
Scheme or such persons as the
Trust may approve.
(2) Any agreement entered into or
any other instrument executed
under this section shall be
exempted from stamp duty.
Section 12—Registration of a
Borrower and Repayment by
Contributors.
(1) Where a borrower is granted a
loan under this Law he shall be
registered by the Trust and shall
be given a provisional social
security number and a membership
certificate unless the borrower
has already been registered with
the Trust.
(2) Where a borrower is employed
on the completion of his course of
studies and becomes a contributor
to the Trust, the provisional
social security number issued
under subsection (1) shall become
his permanent Social Security
Pensions Scheme number under the
Social Security Law, 1991 (PNDCL
247).
(3) The social security
contribution made to the Trust on
behalf of the registered borrower
shall be applied to repay the loan
unless the loan is otherwise
repaid.
(4) The repayment of a loan shall
be by monthly deductions.
(5) The protection against
attachment of contribution
provided under section 31 of the
Social Security Law, 1991 (PNDCL
247) shall not apply to a borrower
who has not completed the
repayment of a loan granted under
this Law or to the guarantors of
the borrower.
(6) Notwithstanding any provision
to the contrary in the Social
Security Law, 1991 (PNDCL 247) any
period for which a borrower's
Social Security contribution is
applied to repay a loan under this
Law shall be excluded from the
minimum contribution period
qualification for the payment of
benefits provided under section 35
of the Social Security Law, 1991 (PNDCL
247).
Section 13—Repayments of Loan by
Non-contributors to the Social
Security and Pensions Scheme.
(1) The repayment of loans
granted under this Law to a
borrower who is not a contributor
to the Social Security and
Pensions Scheme (hereafter in this
Law referred to as a
"non-contributor") shall be
effected by deduction monthly from
the remuneration of the
non-contributor—
(a) by his employer where the
non-contributor is not employed;
and
(b) where the non-contributor is
self-employed by the
non-contributor himself.
(2) The deductions referred to in
subsection (1) shall be remitted
to the Trust within fifteen days
after the deduction is made.
(3) If any non-contributor fails
to pay any sum due and payable
under the Scheme, the Trust may
take legal proceedings to recover
it.
(4) Notwithstanding anything in
this Law or in any agreement,
where a non-contributor without
lawful excuse (proof of which
shall be on him) falls in arrears
with instalments of repayments for
more than six consecutive months,
the whole or the remainder of the
loan shall become due and payable
and the Trust may take legal
action to recover it.
(5) Without prejudice to the
other provisions of this section,
and without prejudice to any
criminal penalty that may be
imposed, any employer who is
required to deduct any sum from
the remuneration of a
non-contributor and to pay the sum
to the Trust under this section
may be sued by the Trust for the
recovery from him of any sums
which he has failed to deduct and
pay.
(6) The rights conferred on the
Trust by this section does not
derogate from any other rights of
the Trust.
Section 14—Particulars to be
Supplied by and on Behalf of
Borrowers.
(1) The National Service
Secretariat, the Public Services
Commission, the Ghana Education
Service and every similar
employing body shall, as soon as
practicable, furnish the Trust
with particulars of the posting of
any student who has been granted a
loan under the Scheme until the
Trust notifies the body that the
borrower has completed repayment
of the loan.
(2) It is the duty of a borrower
to notify the Trust in writing not
later than one month after he
first becomes employed or after he
subsequently changes his
employment and until the loan is
duly repaid, of the name and
business address of his employer,
if any, the business and
residential address of the
borrower, the borrower's salary
and also such other particulars as
the Trust may reasonably request.
(3) Except where the borrower is
self-employed, he shall also
notify his employer in writing of
his obligation in respect of the
loan.
(4) Every employer shall, within
twenty-one days after receipt of
the notification submit to the
Trust the name and address of the
employer, the name and salary of
the borrower and the date of
commencement of the borrower's
employment with the employer.
(5) The Trust may by writing
request an employer or any person
(including a borrower) to give
information in respect of the
borrower which the Trust
reasonably requires for the
purpose of ensuring recovery of a
loan granted under the Scheme and
the employer or other person shall
comply with the request.
Section 15—Failure to Repay the
Loan.
A
borrower who—
(a) fails to obtain employment on
completion of his course of
studies; or
(b) leaves the institution
without obtaining a qualification;
or
(c) dies before repayment of the
loan shall remain indebted to the
Trust to the extent of any unpaid
loan and the Trust may take such
legal proceedings as it considers
necessary to recover the loan.
Section 16—Offences.
Any person who—
(a) fails to deduct contributions
and pay it to the Trust contrary
to subsections (1) and (2) of
section 14;
(b) fails to give a notification
required under this Law; or
(c) fails to supply or supplies
any information required of him
under this Law which he knows to
be false or which he has no reason
to believe to be true,
commits an offence and is liable
on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding ¢500,000.00.
Section 17—Offence by Body of
Persons.
(1) Where an offence under
section 16 of this Law is
committed by a body of persons
then—
(a) in the case of a body
corporate, every director or
manager of the body and the
secretary to the body shall also
be deemed to be guilty of that
offence; or
(b) in the case of a partnership,
every partner shall also be deemed
to be guilty of the offence.
(2) No person shall be deemed to
be guilty of an offence by virtue
of this section if he proves that
the offence was committed without
his consent or connivance and that
he exercised all due care and
diligence to prevent the
commission of the offence, having
regard to all the circumstances.
Section 18—Regulations.
The Secretary may in consultation
with the Trust by legislative
instrument make such regulations
as may be necessary for the
effective implementation of this
Law.
Section 19—Interpretation.
(1) In this Law, unless the
context otherwise requires—
"borrower" means a person who has
obtained a loan under the Scheme
any part of which or interest on
which for the time being remains
unpaid;
"full age" means the age of twenty
one years or more;
"public tertiary institution"
means—
(a) universities or university
colleges;
(b) polytechnics;
(c) diploma award Teacher
Training Colleges; and
(d) all post General Certificate
of Education or post Senior
Secondary School institutions in
Ghana financed from state funds;
"Secretary" means the PNDC
Secretary responsible for Higher
Education;
"Student" includes a student of
any public tertiary institution in
Ghana but does not include any
student who is on paid study leave
from his employment.
(2) In this Law, any reference to
employment of one person by
another includes any relationship
whereby a person engages as such,
for a commission or allowance, the
services of a commission, agent or
any other person who habitually
retails the goods of any other
person in consideration for a
commission or allowance or who
habitually canvasses for or
solicits customers for any other
person in consideration for a
commission or allowance, and the
words "employer" and
"remuneration" shall be construed
accordingly.
Section 20—Repeals and Amendments.
(1) The University Students Credit
Scheme Decree, 1975 (NRCD 356) and
the University Students Credit
Scheme (Amendment) Law, 1986 (PNDCL
155) are hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding the repeal of
the enactments specified in
subsection (1) of this section,
any loan granted under the
repealed enactments which remains
unpaid shall be repaid in
accordance with the terms of
payment agreed upon under that
enactments and shall be recovered
from the borrower in accordance
with the provisions of the
repealed enactments.
Section 21—Commencement.
This Law shall be deemed to have
come into force on the 1st of
January, 1988.
Made this 20th day of January,
1992.
FLT.-LT. JERRY JOHN RAWLINGS
Chairman of the Provisional
National Defence Council.
Date of Gazette Notification: 27th
March, 1992.
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