MANILA - Students who need to buy electronic gadgets for online learning can now apply for a loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines, the state-owned lender said on Wednesday.

LANDBANK said it has expanded the coverage of its direct loan program for students to cover the purchase of electronic gadgets needed for online learning, with loans of up to P50,000 per student.

The gadget loan can be included in the maximum loanable amount of P150,000 per student or P300,000 per parent-borrower to cover payment for tuition or enrolment-related fees, the bank said.

The state-owned lender said students of legal age can now apply for the LANDBANK I-STUDY or Interim Students’ Loan for Tuitions towards Upliftment of Education for the Development of the Youth Lending Program.

Initially only parents and guardians or benefactors of students could apply for the loans.

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“While we await the resumption of in-person classes, we hope that the I-STUDY Program can help students cover the financial requirements to purchase needed learning equipment and participate in online classes,” said LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo.

The maximum age eligibility of students applying for the loans was also raised to 50 years old, and now also includes scholar students whose scholarships do not fully cover their tuition fees. The loan program now also covers non-scholar students from private pre-school, primary and secondary schools.

LANDBANK said it has also approved P531.5 million in loans to 16 educational institutions to help them implement a ‘study now, pay later’ scheme for their students.

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