No Fees Stress policy: 'Schools confirm beneficiaries before disbursement' — SLTF CEO 

The Chief Executive Officer of the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), Dr Saajida Shiraz, has assured that strict verification measures are being used to ensure only eligible students benefit from the government's No Fees Stress policy.

She said the fund has introduced multiple validation processes to prevent non-students and unqualified applicants from receiving payments under the policy.

Dr Shiraz made the disclosure when she appeared before Parliament's Education Committee on Wednesday, July 8.

"Every single person who makes a true application process is claimed by a school. This year, you cannot even apply unless you are an enrolled student of a tertiary institution," Dr Shiraz told the committee.

She explained that the SLTF worked with tertiary institutions to obtain admission and enrollment data before opening the application portal for students.

According to her, the process allows the fund to match applicants' details with records provided by schools before any disbursement is made.

Dr Shiraz said the fund has also introduced additional checks by sending validated applicant lists back to institutions for confirmation to ensure that all beneficiaries are legitimate students.

"We have multiple filters, multiple procedures that we go through before we pay," she said.