A total of 6,981 out of 127,292 birth and death certificates presented to the Registration Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) to verify eligibility of higher education loan applicants have been found with shortfalls, including forgery.
According to a statement signed by RITA Chief Executive Officer, Ms Angela Anatory, from June this year the agency received a total of 135,184, out of which 116,867 birth certificates and the remained 18,317 were death certificates.
The procedure is that all students applying for loans from the Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) in the country are required to attach copies of birth certificates verified by the RITA.
The verification is meant to ensure that every applicant of the higher education loan from the government deserves as per criteria set.
“By Tuesday this week the agency has so far verified 127,292 applications, equivalent to 94 per cent, whereby 6981 applications found to have shortfalls,” Ms Anatory stated in the statement circulated to the media.
Some of the shortfalls include forgery or not found in the RITA’s records, fainted or unreadable copies, or issued outside the country.
“The agency has strengthened department dealing with verification of applications. The feedback is given in real-time to enable applicants to continue with other procedures of loan application.
“I ask all citizens to follow proper procedures and avoid using forged documents when applying for loans to avoid inconveniences,” she insisted.
The agency continues cooperating with the security organs to ensure that unscrupulous individuals are identified and legal actions taken against them.
In order to expand scope of its services, the agency also continues improving its ICT systems to enable citizens to access services at any place.
The RITA is the government agency responsible for supervising and coordinating registration of key life events, including births and deaths.
