Higher Education Students Financing Act, 2014

Provides definitions for terms used in the Act, including Board, currency point, employment, functional fees, Fund, higher education, Minister and scheme.

Establishes the Higher Education Students Financing Scheme, provides loans and scholarships to eligible students, and requires the Board to manage the scheme.

The Board may appoint committees; appointed committees must exercise specific powers/functions, have a specified composition, may invite or co-opt persons (who may not vote), members may be paid allowances with the Minister's written approval, and committees may regulate their own procedure subject to the Board.

Establishes the Higher Education Students Financing Board as a corporate body with perpetual succession and a common seal; the Board may acquire, hold or dispose of property, sue and be sued, and do all acts that a body corporate may lawfully do; the seal shall be authenticated in accordance with Schedule 2.

Sets the Board's composition, requires Ministerial appointment, requires members be of good character, mandates at least one-third women, and sets four-year terms with one possible reappointment.

The Board must manage and administer the higher education students financing scheme and perform related functions, and must submit an annual report to the Minister who shall lay it before Parliament.

The Minister may give policy guidelines in writing to the Board about how it should perform its functions, and the Board must comply with those guidelines.

The Minister may remove a Board member from office on specified grounds; a Board member may resign by giving one month's written notice to the Minister.

The Board must meet at least once every three months to discharge its functions, and the meetings must be conducted in accordance with Schedule 3.

Members of the Board may be paid allowances if those allowances are approved by the Minister in consultation with the Minister responsible for public service and the Minister responsible for finance.

The Board must have a secretariat responsible for day-to-day operations and implementing the Board's decisions; the secretariat must be headed by a full time Executive Director.

Sets appointment, qualification, term length, reappointment limit and grounds for cessation for the Executive Director.

The Executive Director is the Board's chief executive and must carry out specified responsibilities for the scheme and is answerable to the Board.

The Board appoints officers and staff on terms it determines and may provide retirement and other benefits and require contributions.

Members or officers of the Board and persons acting on the Board's directions are not personally liable for acts or omissions done in good faith in the exercise of their duties under this Act.

All scholarships existing immediately before commencement vest in the Board; the central scholarship committee of the Ministry of Education and Sports existing immediately before commencement shall cease to exist on a date the Minister publishes by statutory instrument in the gazette.

All movable and immovable property, assets and liabilities of the scheme that vested in the student loan task force immediately before this Act shall vest in the Board.

The Minister may, by statutory instrument, amend a Schedule to this Act.

Loans cover tuition, functional fees, research expenses, and aids for persons with disabilities; may include accommodation or meals. The Minister must determine amounts annually on the Board's recommendation; the Board must publish those amounts. Students must notify the Board within fourteen days after an institution approves a change of programme; the Board is not responsible for additional fees arising from such a change.

Interest on student loans must be payable; the rate or amount of interest is to be determined by the Minister in consultation with the Minister responsible for finance.

Rules on student scholarships: covered costs, non-refundability with specified exceptions, Minister to determine amounts, Board to publish amounts, Board may terminate or bond beneficiaries, and external scholarships limited to programmes not offered within Uganda.

Bilateral scholarships may be awarded subject to conditions agreed by the donor country and the Government of Uganda.

The Board must consider regional balance, gender, socio-economic needs and equity when deciding eligibility; the scheme is only for Ugandan students in accredited higher education; the Board may declare which programmes are funded by Gazette and national newspaper notice.

The Board must determine applications within twenty one working days; the Board must investigate applications on receipt, notify applicants of decisions and publish approved lists; rejected applicants must be given reasons where necessary; aggrieved persons may appeal to the Minister within seven days and the Minister must determine appeals within fourteen days.

The Board must, within seven days after the notification and publication referred to in section 21, invite approved applicants to enter into an undertaking; the undertaking must follow Schedule 4 and specify the loan or scholarship amount awarded to the applicant.

A person who received a student loan must begin repaying it with specified interest at least one year after completing the higher education for which it was given; the Board must give written notice within 30 days and may extend repayment time after verification.

The Board must set the repayment schedule and installments for a student loan and must notify the person and that person's employer of the rate of deduction.

A person who received a student loan must inform the Board of any employment they take up within fourteen days.

Employers must deduct from employees' pay each month the amount specified by the Board to repay student loans, ensure such deductions do not exceed 30% of net pay, and notify the Board within 14 days in the prescribed form when they employ a loan recipient.

A person who wishes to make an early repayment must repay the student loan in a manner determined by the Board.

A student loan takes priority over all other deductions; taxes and other statutory deductions are deducted before income is deducted for repayment of a student loan.

The Fund shall be administered by the Board and the Fund consists of appropriations, grants, repayments, fees, and investment proceeds.

The Board may levy a loan protection fee on each approved student loan; the Minister determines the fee amount; borrowers must subscribe to the fee.

The Board must open and maintain bank accounts necessary for its functions, and the bank accounts must be operated in a manner determined by the Board.

The Board must, at least two months before each financial year, prepare and submit to the Minister for approval a budget with estimates of the Board's income and expenditure for the next year; the Board must not spend more than the budget without the Minister's written approval.

The funds of the Board may be applied to pay or discharge expenses, obligations (including international obligations), liabilities, and to pay any remuneration or allowances payable under this Act.

The Board must declare any surplus funds at the end of the financial year to the Minister; surplus funds not immediately required may be invested with Ministerial approval in specified instruments or as determined by the Board.

The Board's financial year is a twelve-month period starting on 1 July and ending on 30 June of the next calendar year.

The Board must keep proper accounting records; must prepare annual financial statements within three months after year end; and must submit the annual accounts to the Auditor General within three months after year end.

The Auditor General or an auditor appointed by the Auditor General must submit to the Minister and Parliament a report on the audited accounts of the Board within three months after receipt of the accounts.

Applicants must not make false statements to the Board or in documents submitted to the Board; doing so is an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding forty eight currency points or imprisonment not exceeding twenty four months, or both.

If a person contravenes any provision of the Act for which no specific punishment is prescribed, they commit an offence and on conviction may be fined up to fifty currency points, imprisoned for six months, or both.

A person aggrieved by a Board decision may appeal to the Minister; a person aggrieved by a Minister decision may appeal to the High Court within one month.

The Minister may, on the recommendation of the Board and by statutory instrument, make regulations to carry this Act into effect, prescribing matters such as application procedures, fees, disbursement and repayment rules.