Muara Teweh!

THE GOVERNMENT are planning to sell off student loan debts to private companies, it was revealed in the Queen’s Speech last week.

The Sale of Student Loans Bill, which covers the proposal to sell the student loan book and applies to England and Wales, is expected to raise £6 billion over three years.

Under the Bill the student loan fund will be sold to a third-party purchaser, who will then disclose personal information on the loans and make arrangements to sell them on.

Current student debt stands at around £18.1 billion and is expected to treble by 2020.

With the sale of the debt many now fear that the government has long-term ambitions to abandon the inflation-only interest rate, and charge higher commercial rates on their borrowings.

National Union of Students president, Gemma Tumelty said: “Our primary concern is that » Read more after the jump →

With student loan debt on the rise, students cope with managing finances and the future after graduation.

Sophomore journalism major Danielle Zimmerman has found out that living the college life isn’t as glamorous as it seemed in the brochures.

On top of her classes and trying to maintain a 3.0 grade point average, she works 20 to 30 hours a week at the Franklin Institute’s gift shop. For Zimmerman and many other students, this juggling act can be stressful, taking a toll on grades and social lives.

“There are some times when I have to finish an assignment the night before it’s due because I worked three days in a row,” Zimmerman said. “I don’t really have time for myself.”

Unfortunately her $8.75 an hour won’t cover the $5,000 she owes for tuition next semester. Like many students, she will be forced to take out a private loan - added to her $12,000 private loan » Read more after the jump →

The $85 billion student loan industry and the sprawling U.S. college aid system it serves are in for another round of reforms under legislation expected to win easy approval on Wednesday from a congressional panel.

The bill to come before the House of Representatives education committee would make lenders and colleges adopt codes of conduct governing student loans, part of a crackdown following scandals earlier this year in the loan market.

Students and parents would get more information about borrowing under the bill and, for the first time, colleges would be explicitly urged to restrain tuition inflation.

The measure has wide support. Committee Chairman George Miller, a California Democrat, is sponsoring it. The panel’s senior Republican, Rep. Howard McKeon, also from California, said the bill “reflects bipartisan collaboration.” » Read more after the jump →

Academic Financial Solutions, a leading student loan debt consolidation (http://www.academicfinancial.com/) company based in Tampa, Florida, alerts college graduates who graduated last May or June not to delay on college loan consolidation.

“Waiting to consolidate will be costly,” says Michael Babb, President of Academic Financial Solutions. “Many student loan borrowers don’t realize that their six-month grace period is expiring until it’s too late and lenders begin demanding repayment. It’s really an unfortunate situation. Many borrowers get caught up in transitioning from college life to finding a job, a place to live and other immediate necessities and lose track of the timing of their repayment obligations.”

Repayments on federal student loans begin exactly six months from the graduate’s actual graduation date. The consolidation process can take several weeks or even months to complete. During this six-month grace period, the borrower is eligible for a one-time low interest rate » Read more after the jump →

A company once blasted for gun registry snafus is now part of a corporation that will manage the troubled Canada Student Loans program.

Toronto-based Resolve Corp. won the five-year, $270-million contract to take over “end-to-end servicing” of debts accrued under the massive file next April 1.

The company will handle a $7-billion portfolio with an estimated 1.6 million borrowers in repayment.

Resolve was formed in 2004 through the merger of four smaller companies, including BDP Business Data Services Ltd. Former BDP chief executive officer Lawrence Zimmering now leads Resolve.

BDP made headlines after the federal privacy commissioner reported in January 2003 that envelopes bearing the names of dozens of gun registry applicants were found in bags frozen » Read more after the jump →

Quezon City — The AFS Intercultural Programs Philippines is now accepting applications for the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) study tour in Japan this year to foster solidarity among Asian countries.

The program runs from December 8 to 21 and is open to private and public school students and teachers from the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and India.

JENESYS aims to create a commonly shared future vision for the region towards promoting mutual understanding through youth exchange among students and teachers in Asia.

According to Executive Director Joey Pelaez of the Center for Students and Co-curricular Affairs (CSCA), the Philippines has 60 slots for students and six slots for teachers.

“The students and teachers will enjoy and learn much through the study tours, attendance in Japanese schools and homestay,” Pelaez said. » Read more after the jump →

The students in our schools are living in exciting times. The world they will live and work in is shrinking almost daily – at least in a metaphorical sense! The big issues that concern them are global, whether it is the impact of tension in other parts of the world on where they live or the latest discussion about global warming.

Whereas in the past most people obtained their knowledge about other countries from the newspapers, radio or television, they now find out what they want to know instantly via the internet. Even better, they can visit other countries very easily (and cheaply) and can receive guests from other countries equally readily.

Government support
The government is increasingly recognising the importance of schools developing international links. They support the International School Award, a high-profile award that requires schools » Read more after the jump →