The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), Dr Saajida Shiraz, has announced that salary deductions from loan beneficiaries are expected to commence next month, as the Fund intensifies efforts to recover outstanding loans and secure its long-term financial sustainability.

Speaking on the Super Morning Show on June 19, Dr Shiraz said the Fund had received assurances from the relevant authorities that all necessary arrangements were being finalised ahead of the commencement of salary deductions.

"We are working through the modalities, but I have the assurance of the department that starting next month, we should be able to have deductions," she said.

Dr Shiraz explained that the Fund is expanding its recovery efforts through strategic partnerships with key state institutions to improve collections, particularly from beneficiaries outside the public sector payroll system.

She revealed that the SLTF has begun engagements with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to establish a data-sharing arrangement that will help identify and recover loans from beneficiaries who are not employed in the public sector.

"We have started engagement with the Ghana Revenue Authority, and we are working on the modelling for a data-sharing arrangement to support the collection of loans from people who are not tied to public sector employment," she said.

The Fund has also initiated discussions with the Registrar-General's Department to improve the tracking of beneficiaries who own businesses or operate private companies.

"We have also engaged the Registrar-General's Department and are exploring how that arrangement can help support our collections, especially for those in private business and those who own companies," she added.

Dr Shiraz stressed that improving loan recovery is critical to the Fund's sustainability, noting that the institution cannot continue to rely solely on government allocations to support its operations.

"Every time we talk about financial sustainability, it cannot always be that we are looking to the government to provide allocations to support our work. Twenty years after the establishment of the Fund, we should be looking at ways to ensure that it remains viable and sustainable," she stated.

She said the Fund has also introduced measures to ease the burden on borrowers, including reducing the interest structure on student loans.

"We have taken important steps because of our commitment to students. We have reduced the interest burden on those taking loans, and that demonstrates that we are not only focused on collections," she said.

Dr Shiraz emphasised that student loans should be viewed as a social intervention rather than a commercial lending product.

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"We are not just chasing people to collect. We recognise that student loans are social loans, not commercial loans. The objective is to support access to education while ensuring the Fund remains sustainable," she noted.

She further disclosed that discussions with the Minister for Education have explored the possibility of introducing an income-contingent or employment-linked repayment model in the future.

"Following conversations with the Minister of Education, the issue has come up, and it is something he is mindful of, a future where repayments are linked to a person's income or employment status.

That would make the system more responsive to the realities graduates face," Dr Shiraz said.