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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 guaranteed by the Government. The Ministry of Finance's Banking and Financial Institutions Department's deputy director, Nguyen Ngoc Anh said students can borrow money for a maximum of five years.

"Capital for the programme is sufficient. The state will give one third of support and VBSP will gather other two thirds from the market," he said.

Currently, students can generally borrow a maximum of VND1 million per month, while students who study in Hanoi or HCMC are in need of at least VND3 million.

Anh said the loans have been adjusted in accordance with students' actual needs. "In 2007, the maximum loan amount was VND800,000, and in 2009 it was VND860,000. These loans were increased in 2010 to VND900,000 and up to VND1 million in 2011. Even the VND1 million loan might not have been sufficient, but the programme took into account other help from society, the Government and even the families of students."

The Ministry of Finance decided to maintain the figure of VND1 million because of fears of high expenditures that could threaten the programme's feasibility.

Anh added that, "Larger loans would also mean that students and their families would have more debt afterwards. The Government will continue to monitor the situation and adjust accordingly."