67^TH SUPREME COUNCIL SESSION 

 

EDUCATION BOARD – RESOLUTON

 

It is hereby RESOLVED  by the 67^th Session of the Supreme Council, subsequent to the discussion on the Education Board Report that the previous Resolutions passed towards the Higher Education Loans at the

20^th Triennial Conference in 1998,

61^st  Supreme Council Session in April 2003

23^rd Triennial Conference in April 2007

 

Stand hereby rescinded, this shall be ratified at the next Conference of the Federation.

 

Further more, hereby  by the 67^th Session of the Supreme Council, subsequent to the discussion on the Education Board Report RESOLVES that the Education Board of the Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Supreme Council shall grant Higher Education Loans upon the following guidelines:

 

Africa Federation Policy

 

Promotion of higher Education - All eligible candidates, male or females, shall be eligible to an education loan upon the terms and conditions set by the Education Board which are as follows:

 

·      From year 2008 onwards, Education Loans will be approved for all Quality Internationally Recognized Institutions of Higher Learning anywhere in the world.

 

·      Higher Education loans are only awarded for Undergraduate Courses – first Degree and Limited Postgraduate Loans

 

·      Loans for Diploma courses are also approved if applied locally or regionally. The awards under this category shall be applied for under the VT Loans Category.

 

·      From the year 2008, the maximum loan ceiling is US Dollars 5,000 per annum and the full amount will be funded by the Federation. The Threshold of the loan ceiling may be reviewed from time to time.

 

·      Loan repayment to start 12 months after completion of course.

 

·      Repayment to be made over a period of 5 years.

 

·      All loans are repayable to Africa Federation. This may be done through any of our Institutions.

 

 

Loan Procedure 

 

·      Applicants are to fill in the ‘Revised Dec 2006’ Loan application form, which includes the guarantee forms to be signed by 2 guarantors , and also  attach all necessary documents for submission to their Local Jamaat. 

 

·      In the event student is applying for loan on the basis of Tuition only, then the ‘Supplementary Form’ shall also be required to be filled as per the requirement.

 

·      Applicants who have applied for loans are interviewed by the respective Jamaat on their academic performance, financial situation, extra curricular achievements and career plans, being the criteria set by the Africa Federation Education Board.

 

·      The application forms are duly vetted by the Jamaat and upon recommendation are forwarded to the Education Board Secretariat for approval. The deadline must be strictly adhered to.

 

·      Incase of late applications; the student is required to put in writing explaining the reason for the delay and to justify why his loan application should be considered as deadline has passed. 

 

·      EBS reviews the application form and issues an approval letter if the documents are in order and all requirements have been met.

 

On approval

 

1.    Once the loan is approved, EBS thereafter requests the Federation Secretariat to arrange for disbursement of funds to the respective Jamaat who in turn pay the applicant accordingly. All disbursements shall be made to the applicant through the host Jamaat.

 

For every case where there is a rejection the Jamaat has to provide a written reason to the student
      with a copy to the Federation.

 

2.    Only on receipt of transcripts/results by EBS will the next installment of Loan be released by Federation.

 

The Appeal procedure: -

 

1.    All students will be informed on the loan application form, that in the event of the student not being in agreement with the local Jamaats decision they have a right of appeal to the EBS by putting their appeal in writing. In this regards, the respective Jamaats shall inform the applicant in writing of the application being unsuccessful and a copy of this letter to be sent to the Education Board of the Africa Federation.

 

2.    The student would still have a right to a final appeal, and would need to make a written appeal and send it directly to the Africa Federation Secretariat. A copy of this final appeal is sent to the Local Jamaat and to the Appeal Board.

 

3.    The Appeal Board will consist of the Chairman of Africa Federation, 2 Education Board Members and one Member from the local Jamaat.
 

The New Role of the Education Board

 

a.    Initially, the Education Board would train the Jamaats Education Board on assessing the criteria to be used.

 

b.    The Education Board of the Africa Federation would handle the special loan schemes and awards e.g. MGN and Brilliant Student schemes.

 

c.    The Education Board of the Africa Federation would negotiate preferred rates for our students directly with higher education institutions.

 

d.    The Education Board of the Africa Federation would visit and review our own education institutions with a view to further improve the present standards and facilities. This exercise will be carried out in conjunction with the applicant’s Jamaat Education Board.

 

e.    The Education Board of the Africa Federation would facilitate Jamaats to have in place Higher Education Career Counseling.

 

f.     The Education Board of the Africa Federation would promote the theory of Education for all.

 

g.    The Education Board would collect and then disseminate information regarding Institutions available for Higher Education for students to access.