Expanded scholarship aid eyed for NMI students

To make higher education more accessible to local students, local congressmen want to create a Higher Education Financial Assistance Board that will provide not only scholarships and grants to a limited number of students, but also make available student loans to the local population.

The House of Representatives passed Thursday House Bill 14-188, also known as the Higher Education Financial Assistance Act of 2004, which seeks to abolish the Scholarship Advisory Board, to be replaced by a new financial assistance board. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

House Rep. Justo Quitugua, who introduced the bill, said the number of students who want higher education but could not afford it has been increasing.

“The inability of such students to complete their education results in an irreparable loss to the Commonwealth of talents vital to welfare and security. A system of financial assistance for qualified residents of college age must be established to enable them to attend qualified institutions of their choice,” the congressman said.

Once the bill becomes law, the new financial assistance board will administer the government’s postsecondary education scholarship program. The bill seeks to authorize the board to establish a financial assistance program for eligible residents.

“The board shall establish a student loan program and adopt reasonable rules and regulations to govern the loan program,” the bill states. The board will determine recipients’ repayment schemes.

The bill also provides for deferment of loan payments and condonation in certain circumstances.

Loan payments may be deferred due to the recipients’ unemployment, economic hardship, or other justifying circumstances that will be recognized by policies to be promulgated by the board.

The bill provides for the discharge or cancellation of a student loan if the recipient dies or becomes totally or permanently disabled, the school closes before the recipient completes the program, the recipient works in the CNMI as a teacher, or the recipient files for bankruptcy and the court determines that repayment will cause him or her undue hardship.

The new financial assistance board being proposed will be composed of seven members, who shall be appointed by the governor subject to the consent of the Senate. Members, who will serve four-year terms, should have at least a college degree, among other proposed requirements.

The board shall also appoint an executive director who shall have at least a bachelor’s degree in financial or education management from a U.S.-accredited college or university, among other requirements.