Education loans are an important part of every families budgeting with the cost of a good education rising steadily at around 10% per annum. Education is the key to both the success of the individual and South Africa as a whole which has been reiterated by every president of the country since Nelson Mandela was released in 1994.
The growth and job creation needed to reduce unemployment to acceptable levels is inextricably linked to an educated population and with this in mind, the banks and financial institutions, as well as most educational institutions offer student loans which are specially designed to suit the needs of students.
A student loan need not only be an education loan but can cater for the living arrangements of the student. Res fees and allowance food and petrol can all be included in the education loan and is dependent on the certain criteria which includes the past history of the student and the marks he/she has achieved at school or other tertiary institutions.
Applying for an education or study loan is as simple as filling in the online student loan application forms offered by the various banks and institutions offering student loans for educational purposes. FNB, ABSA and Eduloan are just a few of the institutions offering education loans.
No student, irrespective of age, race,or gender is excluded from applying for an education loan, in fact some families prefer to take out an education loan in the name of the child who is studying in order to impart a sense of responsibility and urgency on the child even if they can afford it. This is often a good idea, where it is made clear to the student that the loan is in their name and that failure to achieve at University or college will result in the loan becoming repayable by them personally. Some of you may see this as a very harsh attitude to adopt towards children who wish to study further, but when we consider the very high drop out rates experienced by Universities in SA, a student loan with a responsibility is a very real incentive to study.