Landbank in talks with DepEd, schools for ‘study now, pay later’ program -Duterte

Published June 02, 2020 11:22 AM By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News

State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines has discussed with the Department of Education and other stakeholders its P3-billion credit support for private academic institutions to implement a “study now, pay later” scheme for its students.

In his report to Congress submitted on Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte said Landbank has also reached out to major school associations and top universities “to market” its ACADEME (Access to Academic Development to Empower the Masses towards Endless Opportunities) lending program.

Duterte earlier said Landbank could lend money to parents struggling to pay their children’s tuition amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Landbank ACADEME lending program is open to private/non-DepEd Junior/Senior High Schools with permit to operate by DepEd, as well as to private Technical-Vocational and Education Training (TVET) institutions in partnership with and being regulated by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Eligible borrowers of the lending program also include colleges and universities with undergraduate programs authorized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

“The program offers ‘3-3-3’ features with a P3-billion-program fund in credit support, a very low fixed interest rate of only 3% per annum, and payable based on the maturity of the sub-promissory notes but not to exceed three years,” Landbank said in a statement last month.—AOL, GMA News
 

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