Optimising student loan recovery in Malawi: Bridging policy gaps, socio-economic realities, and administrative challenges

IF 2 4区社会学 Q2 SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY

Evaluation and Program Planning Pub Date : 2025-09-11 DOI:10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2025.102674

Reuben Moyo , Jimmy Mbelwa , Evelyn Kachingwe , Juma Lungo

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Abstract

In Malawi, where student loans are crucial for expanding access to higher education, poor loan recovery poses a significant threat to the sustainability of financing and socioeconomic development. The study investigates student loan recovery challenges at Malawi’s Higher Education Student Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB), where rigid salary deductions result in a 32.6% non-repayment rate. A mixed-methods approach, grounded in behavioural economics, analyses survey data from 289 borrowers and interviews with 12 staff. Four themes, including enforcement mechanisms, borrower support systems, repayment schedules, and penalties, highlight barriers linked to a 70% informal workforce and administrative gaps. Unemployment, rigid schedules, and poor tracking impede recovery. We propose income-contingent repayment plans, digital platforms, borrower education, and policy reforms, drawing on regional models to offer scalable solutions for low- and middle-income countries.

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优化马拉维学生贷款回收：弥合政策差距、社会经济现实和行政挑战

在马拉维，学生贷款对扩大接受高等教育的机会至关重要，但贷款回收不良对融资和社会经济发展的可持续性构成重大威胁。该研究调查了马拉维高等教育学生贷款和助学金委员会（HESLGB）的学生贷款回收挑战，其中严格的工资扣除导致32.6%的不还款率。以行为经济学为基础的混合方法分析了289名借款人的调查数据，并采访了12名员工。执法机制、借款人支持系统、还款时间表和处罚等四个主题突出了与70%的非正规劳动力和行政缺口相关的障碍。失业、严格的时间表和糟糕的追踪阻碍了复苏。我们建议基于收入的还款计划、数字平台、借款人教育和政策改革，借鉴地区模式，为中低收入国家提供可扩展的解决方案。

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来源期刊

Evaluation and Program Planning SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY-

CiteScore

3.10

自引率

6.20%

发文量

112

期刊介绍： Evaluation and Program Planning is based on the principle that the techniques and methods of evaluation and planning transcend the boundaries of specific fields and that relevant contributions to these areas come from people representing many different positions, intellectual traditions, and interests. In order to further the development of evaluation and planning, we publish articles from the private and public sectors in a wide range of areas: organizational development and behavior, training, planning, human resource development, health and mental, social services, mental retardation, corrections, substance abuse, and education.