H.E. Hsing Ying-whei, Taiwan’s ambassador to Nicaragua, was recently on hand at the regional office of the Central America Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) in Managua, Nicaragua, to witness the signing of an agreement between Benjamin Teodoro Rivas Vasquez, the rector of La Salle Technological University (Universidad Tecnológica La Salle, ULSA) in León, Nicaragua, and Dr. Silvio E. Conrado G., director of CABEI’s Managua office, as the ULSA formally joined the TaiwanICDF-funded Taiwan-CABEI Technological and Vocational Education and Training Student Loan Fund.

At the time that this lending project got under way in late 2008, very few colleges or financial institutions in Central America were familiar with student loan operations, and so in addition to providing a loan of US$2 million, the TaiwanICDF also provided an additional US$200,000 to a subsidiary technical assistance fund, both managed and promoted by CABEI. As those in eligible countries have gradually come to understand the importance of this project and the importance of student loans, technical and vocational schools and educational institutions throughout the region have continued to apply to join the program.

Established in 2009, the ULSA offers a complete range of youth and adult education and training covering four major branches of learning – science, technology, the humanities and religious studies – and has seen an initial enrollment of 140 students rise to 583 today. Participating in this project gives colleges the capacity to provide students with excellent academic track records with access to student loans, so that those applying for admission to tertiary education can pursue undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate studies.

Having driven a number of regional financial institutions, schools and government agencies to follow its precedent in funding and providing similar student loans, the project has had a subtle but significant effect in promoting a surge of interest in TVET throughout Central America, and CABEI has since formally applied to the TaiwanICDF to inject further funding for a second phase of the project in response to an increasing demand for student loans. To date, 13 colleges and institutions have participated in the program, which has benefitted 319 students by extending preferential student loans amounting to approximately US$4 million.

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• Update: 2018/03/01
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