STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE STUDENTS LOAN TRUST FUND IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

ABSTRACT

The study examined student’s perception of the student loan trust fund in the University of Cape Coast its benefits and challenges. The study adopted the descriptive survey design to describe students’ views about the Students loan trust fund (SLTF). The data gathered were from a sample size of 269 respondents from the University of Cape Coast using a questionnaire. The study adopted three sampling technique namely: convenience sampling technique, snowball sampling technique and purposive sampling technique in selecting the study sample or respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse all the data related to the research questions. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25.0 software was used to process the obtained data. The study found that students had positive perception of the student loan trust fund as the core mandate was being achieved by contributing massively to their academic work financially. Some challenges faced by students in accessing the loan were that, they did not know how to calculate the interest on the loan that kept increasing frequently, the SLTF loan did not come on time and some it took some students a very long time to get a qualified guarantor. Students suggested that the SLTF can be improved to get more students benefitted in the following ways: SLTF officials should intensify educating students on the processes and requirements for getting the loan, the loan amount must be released on time and frequently sending of messages to students about any information concerning the loan. The study recommends that, management of the loan fund should do well to orient students on how to calculate their interest on the loan and also, release the loan to students on time as most students depend on it for survival and since payment of fees are mostly done in the early semester.