Do Recovery Mechanisms Actually Recover? Student Loan Recovery Effectiveness in Higher Education Financing, Tanzania

Sophia Mpokera, Coletha C. Ngirwa, Mohamed K. Msoroka

Abstract: Student loan schemes are now the core instrument for financing higher education in much of Sub-Saharan Africa; however, their revolving logic collapses when recovery flops. This article reviews the empirical literature on the effectiveness of student loan recovery mechanisms, with specific attention to the Higher Education Students' Loans Board (HESLB) in Tanzania. Twenty-two sources published between 1981 and 2026 were purposively selected and analysed thematically against two organising lenses: Credit Rationing Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Three findings stand out. First, the literature applies the term "effectiveness" to at least four incommensurable measures, namely the recovery ratio, the arrears stock, the administrative cost per unit recovered, and borrower welfare, and rarely specifies which one is meant, so comparative claims across studies are less secure than they appear. Second, the mechanisms that studies rank against one another are not independent instruments. Payroll deduction, data matching and legal enforcement all sit downstream of a single prior capability, namely the ability to identify a borrower and observe their income; where that capability is absent, no mechanism performs, and where it is present, the choice among mechanisms matters much less than the literature implies. Third, informality is treated as a residual difficulty rather than as the binding constraint it evidently is, which has allowed income-contingent repayment models designed for payroll-tax states such as England to be recommended for African contexts without adequate interrogation. The review also finds that rising arrears are routinely read as failing recovery, although a growing portfolio can produce rising arrears alongside improving collection. The article argues for a reframing of recovery effectiveness around identification capability and cost-effectiveness, and identifies a theoretical gap that the combined use of Credit Rationing Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour is well placed to fill.

Keywords: Student Loans, Loan Recovery, Recovery Mechanisms, Higher Education Financing

How to Cite?: Sophia Mpokera, Coletha C. Ngirwa, Mohamed K. Msoroka, "Do Recovery Mechanisms Actually Recover? Student Loan Recovery Effectiveness in Higher Education Financing, Tanzania", Volume 15 Issue 9, September 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 212-220, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26813180223, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26813180223

Download Citation: APA | MLA | BibTeX | EndNote | RefMan