CDB provides US$6 million in financing for Belize Student Loan Scheme

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CDB’s Vice-President of Operations Isaac Solomon.

BELMOPAN, Belize– The government has received a US$6 million loan from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for its Student Loan Scheme, which will assist close to 800 learners, including financially disadvantaged persons, in pursuing post-secondary and tertiary level programs.

Through the Belize Student Loan Project, funds will be made available to the country’s Development Finance Corporation to assist students seeking training in areas identified under the government’s human resource development strategy as critical for improving the country’s economic competitiveness.

The loan was approved at a recent meeting of CDB’s Board of Directors, the Bank said.

“Investment in human resource development is vital to the future of a country, and consequently, Belizean students must have access to education and training to meet the future needs of the labor force,” said CDB’s Vice-President of Operations Isaac Solomon.

“To improve economic competitiveness and social cohesion, access to learning, training and capacity building opportunities must be available as widely as possible, especially for persons with financial challenges.”

With approximately 70 percent of the population of Belize under 35, the demand for tertiary education is steadily increasing. Expanded access to secondary education and evolving human resources requirements for the country’s services-driven economy also necessitate more tertiary-level training schemes.

Anticipated benefits of the CDB Project include escalations in enrolment and graduation rates for tertiary level programs, an increased number of highly skilled professionals and practitioners entering the Belizean workforce, and improvements in the employability and productivity of the local human resource pool.

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