Source: NS News Release via Academica | March 28, 2014
The Nova Scotia government has announced it will eliminate the interest on provincial student loans, beginning with qualifying borrowers who entered repayment on or after November 1, 2007. These borrowers won’t be reimbursed for interest they’ve paid since that date, but they will no longer pay interest going forward. There are roughly 18,000 borrowers who could be eligible to benefit annually, says an NS news release. The average NS student loan is about $5,600; eliminating the interest would save about $800 over the lifetime of the loan. NS has committed $1.6 million annually to fund the move. StudentsNS welcomed the announcement, but said that NS should take further strides to support students by following the example set by Newfoundland and Labrador; NL announced last week that it would replace all student loans with non-repayable grants.
TCS Insights: Much like the example set by Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia is making higher education more affordable to post-secondary students. Any student, domestic or international, will be able achieve academic success in the province with less economic stress than in recent history.