St Kitts and Nevis: Dr Terrance Drew, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, has recently announced that the interest rate for student loans at the Development Bank of St Kitts and Nevis (DBSKN) will be reduced to just 5 per cent.
Prime Minister Drew shared this update through his official social media account and proudly stated that the through this step, St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) has been fulfilling its pledges made during the general election campaign in August 2022. He announced that the political party of St Kitts and Nevis promised the students and young population of the nation to implement a ‘Graduate Finance Project (GFP)’.
In addition to this, PM Dr Terrance Drew stated that all the loan holder students would receive a credit to service of $15,000 at their loan at DBSKN. He further said that Phase 1 of GFP has rollout on April 6, 2023 (Thursday), under the theme ‘Removing Financial Barriers to Education’.
PM Terrance Drew, who also serves as the Minister of Finance of St Kitts and Nevis, mentioned that the Graduate Finance Project would provide a better way for the students of the Federation. It is worth mentioning that the initiative was listed among the project of St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party under the Post COVID Reset Campaign, which was designed to provide assistance to the students who suffered economic and financial backlash because of the global pandemic (COVID-19).
St Kitts and Nevis government has been anticipating that with the help of this initiative, students of the nation can save a total of ECD 50,000 or more during the loan period.
First Phase of Graduation Financial Project:
According to the government of the Federation, the phase-I of GFP, a new student of the Federation will get 5 percent interest on an amount of ECD 100,000 for the period of around 4 years and 3 months. The replacement period for the same will be 15 years.
During this period, a student will be credited to service an amount of ECD 15,000, which will eliminate the payment of interest for the duration of 4 years and 3 months. The interest will come into effect after 4 years and 3 months. The interest of 10 years and 9 months will be the application for the remaining period about deducting 4 years and 3 month from the repayment term. Following this, the payment of the graduate will be between ECD 1,000 and ECD 1,500 per month.
