LookAtVietnam – The Government has earmarked VND8 trillion (US$453 million) for loans to poor students in the 2008-09 schoolyear, the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies, the channeling agency, said on Thursday.

Deputy PM Nguyen Thien Nhan said students would continue to be eligible for a loan of VND800,000 a month at an interest rate of 6% per year.

In the 2007-08 schoolyear, when the loan programme began, 1.2 million students got loans worth VND9.5 trillion ($543 million).

Thanks to the loan, many poor families have to worry less about tuition fees while children who pass the entrance examination enjoy more chances of going to college.

To boost the effectiveness of the programme, Nhan has instructed the bank to report on the progress of its loan disbursement and draw lessons from last year’s experience.

It should publicise information about the programme to ensure students and parents are fully aware of it, he said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News