By Aminata Kuyateh
The Students Revolving Loan Scheme (SRLS), under the Ministry of Higher Education Research Science and Technology, will start receiving applications on September 15, with eligible students given until September 30 to apply for interest-free tuition financing.
The executive director of the SRLS, Dr Samba Bah, made the announcement on Wednesday, describing the opening of the application cycle as a major milestone in The Gambia’s higher education financing landscape.
The first cycle will cater for new and continuing students enrolled in accredited Bachelor’s degree programmes at the country’s four public universities — the University of The Gambia (UTG), Civil Service University (CSU), University of Education, The Gambia (UEG), and the University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET).
Dr Bah said the loans will cover tuition costs and will be provided on an interest-free basis. Applications will be submitted entirely online through the SRLS platform, with the Secretariat urging prospective applicants to begin preparing their documents ahead of the September 15 opening.
He further explained that applicants must be Gambian citizens aged 18 or above and have admission to an accredited undergraduate programme at one of the four public universities. “New students must meet the academic requirements of their respective institutions, while continuing students must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress,” he said.
According to the executive director, applicants must also provide proof of their financial circumstances to enable the scheme to assess their financial need, together with proof of address and a valid Certificate of Character.
He said each applicant must provide both a primary and secondary guarantor, while working applicants will be required to declare relevant employment and income information.
Bah added that the opening of applications comes after approximately nine months of work to establish the policies, systems and institutional frameworks needed to administer a national student financing programme.
During that period, he went on, the Secretariat consulted students, public universities, technical experts, development partners and communities as part of efforts to ensure the Scheme responds to students’ financial realities and operates in a fair, transparent and accountable manner.
Addressing concerns from journalists about whether the selection of beneficiaries could be affected by political influence or favouritism, Bah said the scheme had deliberately put clear policies and systems in place to guide eligibility and decision-making.
He assured that the SRLS Governing Board and Secretariat are made up of professionals with experience in their respective fields, adding that the institution takes its responsibility to administer student financing seriously.
“We want to have clear policies that determine who qualifies and who does not,” Bah said, explaining that decisions would be guided by established policies rather than individual discretion.
According to him, the Secretariat also prioritised building systems that would make every application traceable. He said the process would allow the scheme to determine where an application originated, the stages it passed through, why it was accepted or rejected and how the decision was audited.
He said the systems were designed to provide a clear audit trail that could still be examined years after an application had been processed, strengthening accountability and reducing room for arbitrary decisions.
Bah also disclosed that there is no fixed maximum number of students who will be allocated loans under the first cycle.
He disclosed that D40 million has been allocate and out of that sum, D25 million had been earmarked for schools, although he did not provide details in the remarks on how the remaining funds would be distributed.
The executive director stressed that the September application window should not be viewed as the end of the SRLS’s work but as the beginning of its operational phase. “The Secretariat will now focus on implementing its policies, systems and processes and ensuring that students are properly served throughout the loan process,” he added.
With applications set to run for just 16 days, the Scheme is encouraging eligible students to prepare their documentation early, familiarise themselves with the application guidance and follow official SRLS channels for updates before the online portal opens on September 15.