Vietnam Raises Bank Loans for Poor Students from August 1

Vietnam started to raise monthly learning-purposed loan for each student to VND1 million from an earlier VND900,000 from August 1, 2011 under Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s recent decision. Accordingly, a student can now apply for a loan of VND10 million for one academic year, the Saigon Giai Phong online newspaper reported Sept 6. The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies said that the capital amount for the credit assistance program for students for the 2011-2012 academic year is available and ready to be transferred to the various regions as per requirement. The available fund for the first semester of this year is estimated to reach VND5 trillion ($238 million). The lending interest on the student education loans has also been raised from 0.5% to 0.65% a month, it added. Nguyen Van Ly, deputy director of the bank, said that tedious and lengthy procedures to obtain the loans in previous years would now be streamlined from this year. Whenever a student requires a loan, it will be readily available after all essential requirements are met. Any other drawbacks like disadvantaged conditions will have to be forwarded in a written confirmation, by commune authorities and concerned schools.
More than two million students of poor households nationwide have benefited from the government’s learning-purposed financial assistance program since it was launched three years ago. The program indicates the government’s strong effort to ensure educational opportunities for all, particularly the poor. (Saigon Giai Phong – Saigon Liberation Sept 6)