Impact of Higher Education Students Loan Scheme on Manpower Development in Bayelsa State

The study investigated the impact of Higher Education Students Loan Scheme on Manpower Development in Bayelsa State. The research work was anchored by the human capital model. The study adopted Raosoft calculator to determine the size of the sample from the population of study and a sample size of 377 respondents was arrived at using the calculator and were distributed amongst students of Bayelsa state origin in higher institutions of learning and retrieved 100 copies. This shortfall in the total number of retrieved questionnaire was a result of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The distribution of sponsorship across students of Bayelsa state origin reveal that 63% percent were sponsored by Parent/Guardians, 3% percent were by Bayelsa Higher Education Students Loan Scheme, 2% percent are on scholarship while 33% percent are self-sponsored. The data obtained from the survey were analyzed with SPSS. The paper recommends that the Board should expand its scope beyond payment of school fees. Secondly, the Board should relax its policy on provision of guarantors to access loans and concentrate on withholding certificates as collateral.