SLTF introduces advance fee payment to help first-year students secure admission under 'No Fee Stress' policy

The Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) has announced that it will provide upfront fee payments to eligible first-year students of public universities and public technical universities to prevent them from losing their admissions due to fee-payment deadlines.

Under the arrangement, the Fund will advance the required fee deposit directly to the tertiary institution upon application by an eligible student.

The advance will subsequently be reconciled against the academic fee support due to the student under the government’s No Academic Fees Policy.

“This financing brings the academic fee support forward to ensure that no eligible first-year student loses their admission because of fee-payment deadlines,” the SLTF said in a statement issued on Monday, October 5.

The intervention forms part of the government’s “No-Fees-Stress” agenda aimed at ensuring that financial difficulties do not prevent students from accessing tertiary education.

The SLTF explained that support under the No Academic Fees Policy is paid to public universities and public technical universities after the institutions submit admission data and students’ details are validated.

The process, however, takes time, while institutions may require newly admitted students to pay part of their fees by specified deadlines to confirm their admissions.

The upfront financing is therefore intended to bridge that gap and allow eligible first-year students to secure their places while the regular fee-support process is completed.

The Fund said it had received the cooperation of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Vice-Chancellors Ghana, Vice-Chancellors of Technical Universities, Ghana, and the leadership of public tertiary institutions in implementing the arrangement.

The SLTF urged eligible students who require immediate assistance to apply through the No-Fees-Stress Portal at nofeesstress.gov.gh.