Defaulters and their guarantors may soon find themselves in court, as the Student Revolving Loan Fund management committee seeks to recoup millions owed.
Management committee attorney Chester L. Sue told the DAILY NATION yesterday, in a telephone interview, that in a worst-case scenario unfortunate guarantors could find themselves ordered to pay the moneys by instalments over time by the court, or facing imprisonment, or having their properties seized.
For years the fund has been the lifeline for those seeking to study overseas, but after cashing in on the benefits, some students have opted not to repay the fund and have even taken up jobs and residence overseas.
But Sue has made it clear that residing overseas would not stop the students or their guarantors “who are equally liable” under the Sureties Agreement from facing the law courts.
“Some of them figure once they are overseas that we can’t touch them because they are now living in other jurisdictions, but that is not true! They are ways of dealing with them,” the attorney stated.
In the last SATURDAY SUN, three such defaulters and their guarantors who owe in excess of $282 000 from 2007 were named.
Sue said the three were from about 30 defaulters who had finished their studies, and for one reason or another had not sought to repay their student loans. They each owed in excess of $50 000 which would have accumulated interest over the last four years.
The sums of $90 325.25, $111 957.70 and $79 819.47 were listed as the money owed by three students, two of whom had listed overseas addresses.
Sue, who was hired late last year to pursue the matters, said the publication in the Press was a requirement of the civil procedure involved to start legal action against those people.
Repeated efforts to reach management committee chairman Guildford Bruce Alleyne for a comment proved futile.
