Student loans increase; interest rates fall (22-09-2007) Students in Ha Noi submit documents for loans at the Bank for Social Policies, which estimates 287,000 students will request financial assistance during the 2007-08 school year. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet Ha noi — Following a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan and representatives from state offices and relevant ministries on Thursday, Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) will increase the amount students can borrow and reduce their interest rates. The new student loan amount is expected to cover living expenses and tuition fees. The loan will be determined depending on each year’s tuition fees and expenses, and will be divided into three different levels for students from mountainous, flat and urban areas. The current interest rate, which is 70 per cent of the rate for business loans, will drop to about 50 per cent. A plan for implementing the Prime Minister’s instructions … [Read more...]
Student loans dry up bank’s resources
Student loans dry up bank’s resources (08-10-2007) HCM CITY — The recent government decision to help poor students pay for their university education met with both warm receptions from students and their families but concern from the bank in charge of making the loans. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung two weeks ago signed a decision that would enable poor university and college students to borrow up to VND800,000 a month with 0.5 per cent monthly interest. Nguyen Thuy Nhai, a student at the University for Social Sciences and Humanities in Ha Noi, said that she needed VND700,000-800,000 a month for school fees, meals, paperwork and clothes. She said the loans would make it possible for her to live in the city, finish her studies and find a suitable job. The number of students who need to borrow money to fund their studies is considerable, according to the Bank for Social Policies. In the 2007-2008 academic year, 287,000 poor students qualify for these loans. With that … [Read more...]
Student loans make the grade
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
Student loans available for disadvantaged students
An official from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies confirmed that they have enough money to make loans to students from low-income families. Student loans available for disadvantaged students The capital is to come from the World Bank's loan for poverty reduction, a VND2.5 trillion (USD120 million) loan whose collection activities have been taken on by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP). The bank said the total amount of debt it recovered in September is VND2.6 trillion and it will collect VND3 trillion by the end of December. At an online conference held with Lo Van Duc, Director of VBSP's credit programme for disadvantaged students confirmed during an online conference on October 15 that the funds were secure and available. He added that VBSP's director has asked local branches to disburse the money as quickly as possible. Still many students who might qualify have had trouble accessing the loans, which have been … [Read more...]
Vietnam sets aside USD270 million for student loans
The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies has lent VND2.5 trillion (USD121 million) out of the VND5.5 (D266 million) reserved for student loans this spring. In Thursday meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, the social bank said its lending had been delayed as it did not receive the remaining VND3 trillion (USD145 million) on schedule. In mid February, the government requested the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam to promptly provide this amount to the social bank. At present, the amount is being transferred to the social bank. Under the national credit program for poor students, the social bank has provided a total VND27 trillion (USD1.3 billion) in loans to over 2 million poor students for the past three years. The government aims to lend poor students another VND19 trillion (USD919 million) in upcoming years. … [Read more...]
Government to fund poor students’ loans
VietNamNet Bridge – The Government has agreed to earmark an additional VND2.5 trillion (US$119 million) to the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies to ensure there are enough funds for loans to poor university students in the upcoming academic year. Parents apply for loans from the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies to pay for their children's education in northern Thanh Hoa Province's Quang Khe Commune. Nguyen Van Ly, the bank's deputy head, said the bank was distributing money to provinces and cities for lending to poor students. But there could be a shortage of funds, he admitted. The money for the programme comes from three sources – the Government, issue of bonds guaranteed by the Government, and internal sources. By July it had collected debts worth VND1.8 trillion ($85.7 million) from beneficiaries, according to Ly. But because of the economic downturn, it has not tried to sell bonds in recent times. To ensure a stable source of funds for the … [Read more...]