STI Holdings, Landbank partner for ‘study now, pay later’ program

STI Education System Holdings Inc., owner of one of the country’s largest networks of private schools, has partnered with the Land Bank of the Philippines to implement a lending program aimed at helping students continue their studies despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, STI Holdings said its subsidiary STI Education Services Group (STI ESG) availed of Landbank’s Access to Academic Development to Empower the Masses towards Endless Opportunities (ACADEME) lending program —a “study now, pay later” scheme offered by the government to select academic institutions for school year 2020-21.

Under the ACADEME program, STI ESG will be able to extend assistance amounting up to P250 million through loans that would cover tuition fee, and that students may pay for within three years.

The school will then guarantee the loans and assume the 3% interest required by the program, making the loan payments from students interest-free, STI Holdings said.

STI ESG is the first to avail of this groundbreaking loan facility, it said.

“Like most Filipinos, we value education and its power to transform lives and communities. Thus, with or without the pandemic, education is our priority and we remain committed to providing the best quality possible,” said STI Holdings president and CEO Monico Jacob.

STI Holdings said it  also strengthened its partnerships with the Pag-IBIG Fund and the Government Service Insurance System, making available scholarship grants of up to 20% to qualified students.—LDF,GMA News