Horizon Campus joins hands with Govt. to offer interest free loan scheme for higher education

With more than 80% of academically well prepared Sri Lankan students being deprived each year of entering state universities due to capacity constraints in the universities, Horizon Campus has taken the initiative to expand access to higher education at their campus through the launch of an Interest-Free Student Loan Scheme in partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka. This is offered for Advanced Level students who have qualified for university entrance but have not been able to secure a seat in a state university to pursue a degree of their choice. 

In this endeavour, Horizon as a campus recognised by the Ministry of Higher Education will provide opportunities to those students who are unable to bear the cost of course fees of their degrees affiliated with foreign universities, the opportunity to finance their higher education after they complete their studies and enter employment. 

Minister Grero State Minister of Higher Education and Highways, who was present at the launch of this program said that this was a historical day of the Sri Lankan education sector, where all students in the country will have access to higher education degrees of their choice. Also present at this function were Bank of Ceylon General Manager D.M. Gunasekara, Horizon Group Chairman Upul Daranagama, Horizon Campus CEO Ajitha Wanainghe, Horizon Campus Acting Vice Chancellor Dr. Ruwan Perera, Horizon Campus Faculty of Education Dean Prof. T. Thanaraj, Horizon Campus Faculty of Information Technology Dean Dr. Amal Rajapakse, Horizon Campus Faculty of Management Dean Terence Kahapolarachchi and Horizon Campus Project Director – B.Ed Thilina Rajapakse.

Horizon Campus Chairman Upul Daranagama said, “By partnering in this loan scheme with the Government, we can expect to produce a pool of high level human capital, which is essential for the economic and human development of the country and is therefore of central importance to its future development .In line with the Budget Proposal of 2017 that suggested to provide opportunities to students who are qualified in GCE (A/L) but miss out university entrance, this student loan scheme, will offer a maximum loan amount of Rs. 800,000 per student for the entire course of study.”

Programs offered at Horizon campus for this loan scheme include the Bachelor of Science in Business Management (HRM), Bachelor of Management Honours in Marketing, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, Bachelor of Information Technology in Networking and Mobile Computing (Honours) and Bachelor of Education. 

The students who sat for GCE (A/L) in 2015 are eligible for this scheme. Each student will be given any number of preferences for the degree programs based on their personal interest.

An online system hosted under www.studentloans.mohe.gov.lk can be used to submit the application by the qualified applicants with a payment of Rs. 200. Selected students need to enter into a loan agreement with the Bank of Ceylon which provides these loan facilities. Students who are selected for the four years degree program will be given a total period of 12 years as loan repayment period, whilst students who selected for the three years degree program will be given a total period of 10 years as loan repayment period.

Daranagama added, “Any country risks falling behind in the knowledge-driven global economy if it doesn’t expand its higher education sector. As such, Government-backed student credit is a financial instrument well suited to funding higher education. Such a scheme eliminates the financial barriers to higher education. If managed correctly, it could deliver increased access and academic excellence more effectively than other funding options. I personally believe that this well-designed student loan scheme is the solution to Sri Lanka’s higher education funding crisis and this is the reason that we at Horizon Campus endorse this move and have also partnered in this initiative.”