Saridan

[Rogue]

Koeistad - The coalition has managed to pass a comprehensive education reform package that introduces a new student loan scheme on the federal level. The proposal originated from Sentrum, being one of their main points in the coalition agreement between them and the SNP and FP. With the new scheme, students will be able to get a monthly loan of 500 dollars, with the potential for students of low income families to be granted 400 dollars more. This loan can be granted for the first 4 years of your education. If you get a delay in getting your degree, the loan stops at the end of the 4th year. The loan does not need to be repayed if you get your degree. If you fail to get your degree, the loan must be repayed with a 1% interest. 

By introducing the new scheme for higher education, the government hopes to make higher education more accessible for all children, no matter their background. It will help them pay for school costs as well as housing if needed. The reform is a federal reform, which includes provisions that leaves room for provinces to do even more in encouraging widely available education. Besides the new scheme, the reform also adopts a advisory federal curriculum, increases pay for all federally employed educational employees and provides more support for local and provincial schools by the federal government. 

Secretary Piet Botes of Education, Culture & the arts (Sentrum) posted on social media thanking the Volksraad for "their committment to quality and widely available education for students throughout our republic." He has pledged that once signed by State President Smit, he will immediately put his department to work in implementing the bill.