Student loans make the grade (29-01-2008) Disadvantaged students set to get half a billion dollars in loans this year. HA NOI — The Government is to provide student loans totalling half a billion dollars this year to disadvantaged students, an education conference in the capital heard yesterday. The announcement followed last year’s decision by the Government to make loans more accessible to those in education, the Social Policy Bank said. Since the Government’s Decision No 157 was enacted last September, VND2.5 trillion (US$156.6 million) had been disbursed to students, the bank said, adding that the sum was in stark contrast to the mere VND300 billion lent to disadvantaged students a year ago. The bank’s deputy director, Nguyen Van Ly, attributed the success of the new scheme to the fact that the repayment terms were longer and the interest rates lower than those previously offered. Under the new decision, the maximum credit a student can receive per academic … [Read more...] about Student loans make the grade
Government student loans
Student loans come under spotlight
Student loans come under spotlight (03-07-2008) Finance Ministry to provide over $241 million for student loans for the first term. Students complete procedures to borrow loans at the Social Policy Bank Headquarter. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet HA NOI — Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan will establish inspection groups to examine the implementation of student loan policies in various cities and provinces with extraordinarily high and low levels of outstanding loans, according to the Government Office. Members of the inspection groups will include representatives of the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and Viet Nam Social Policy Bank. The inspections are scheduled to be completed by the end of the month. A one-year summary of the policies is expected before August 20 in order to improve the implementation of said policies by the time the new academic year begins, according to a Government … [Read more...] about Student loans come under spotlight
Gov’t to adjust student loan plan
HCM CITY — Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has asked the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and Training, Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies and several other agencies to analyse the total amount of funds needed for student loans in the 2010-11 academic year. The report will help the Government set loan amounts in accordance with higher tuition fees. Nhan asked the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) to adjust loans for students whose families live near the poverty line so that the loans are lower than those offered to poor students. The bank was also ordered to provide loans for a maximum of 12 months to students whose families were affected by unexpected financial difficulties caused by natural disasters, storms and floods. The VBSP suggested that the Government pump VND5 trillion (US$256.4 million) to provide loans for poor students at various education levels. In response to this suggestion, the deputy prime minister has asked the Ministry of Finance to … [Read more...] about Gov’t to adjust student loan plan
PM sets student loan standards
PM sets student loan standards (26-09-2007) The deputy director of HCM City’s Bank for Social Policies, Tran Van Tien, spoke to Dai Doan Ket (Great Unity) newspaper about his bank’s handling of the Prime Minister’s new student loan policy. How has the preferential loan policy for poor students been implemented at your bank in the past? The HCM City’s Bank for Social Policies has implemented this policy before. Students have borrowed some VND32 billion (US$2 million) from the bank to pay for tuition fees and living expenses. Every year, we have accepted loan applications from poor students directly or through their schools. We started disbursement before the 2007-08 school year began last month, when the Prime Minister’s directive was still in the research phase. The bank now has over VND3 billion ($187,500) to support poor students in the future. How has the bank prepared to deal with the Prime Minister’s new directive? The directive was signed and … [Read more...] about PM sets student loan standards
Bank to offer more student loans
Bank to offer more student loans (19-10-2005) HCM CITY — State-owned Social Policy Bank (SPC) plans to better manage its loans to students, in an effort to increase the number of loans it can offer to students and their families. Ha Thi Hanh, general director of the SPC, said the bank would work closely with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and the State Bank to create better access to credit for needy students. Hanh said her bank receives VND160 billion (US$10 million) a year from the State Bank for student loans, but demand from students requires another VND50 billion ($3.1 million) a year. The bank will also step up its efforts to encourage students to pay their debts on time. "Students across the country complain that they find it hard to borrow money from our funds and are required to show many documents," Hanh said. "One of the major reasons is that we face difficulties in collecting long-term debts from students, who often move to work … [Read more...] about Bank to offer more student loans