LookAtVietnam – Bui Thi Tan sighs as she peruses the list of students who owe tuition fees posted on the announcement board at Can Tho University. Once again, her name is there in bold.

Students of Ha Noi Technology University in the science laboratory. These students are a few of many who currently require assistance with tuition fees in order to take classes in science and technology.

“When I could not pay on time I received school warnings that my name would be erased if I failed to pay by the extended deadline,” she said.

“I had to borrow money at high interest rates and get a part time job to pay it back.”

Tan is one of 500 students in Can Tho University in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta who regularly owe tuition fees.

Nguyen Van Hieu, head of Can Tho University’s Finance Department, said the school creates favourable conditions for poor students to access preferential credit, but delayed school fees remain a problem.

Nguyen Van Khuong from northern Ha Nam Province, whose daughter is a student at the Ha Noi-based Banking Institute said: “The fact that my daughter owes school fees is unavoidable. We don’t want it to happen, but we can’t do any differently since our family’s monthly income is about VND1 million ($60).”

According to a recent study by the National Institute for Education Strategy and Curriculum Development (NIESAC), 45.6 per cent of students have difficulty paying school fees and nearly 20 per cent usually owe school fees. Each student spends roughly VND12.5 million ($700) a year on school fees, but only 50 per cent of students receive even half that figure from their families.

Credit for the needy

A preferential credit system for poor students has been in effect since 2007 and has thus far assisted 1.3 million youngsters in fulfilling their dream of pursuing higher education.

So far VND9.7 trillion ($570 million) has been disbursed, about VND800,000 ($47) a student per month.

Dao Thu Phuong, a student at the Labour and Social Affairs University, said that the preferential loans helped pave her way to university.

“Without the loan, my parents would have had to borrow from neighbours at a high interest rate,” said Phuong, 20, from northern Vinh Phuc Province.

However, timing is often a problem as students can’t obtain loans at preferential rates in time to pay their tuition fees.

Nguyen Thi Thuy, student at Cong Doan (Trade Union) University, said that she had to pay her school fees in September, but her family could not get a bank loan until December so she had to temporarily borrow at a high interest to get a loan in time.

Timing can be a problem in another sense as banks often grant students lump payments instead of instalments. This can lead to problems as students fail to budget the money and are left without funds when time comes to pay their tuition.

Nguyen Thi Luyen of northern Bac Giang Province, whose daughter is a student in Ha Noi, said she borrowed money from a local bank at the beginning of the academic year but her daughter has to pay fees at the end of each term and by then she had already spent the money. As a result, she had to borrow money from other sources when her daughter asked for her school fees.

Deputy Director of the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies Nguyen Van Ly said the complaints were unfounded. “Students should be more active about obtaining bank loans rather than waiting for money,” he said.

Ly went on to say that he was sad to see that many students were passive and unable to manage their spending.

“Our bank serves nearly 1.3 million students, accounting for about 30 per cent of total students. How can we meet the demand of every borrower?” he asked.

The deputy director also pointed out that the procedure for preferential loans is simple and is not time consuming so students should not complain about inconvenience.

“We are willing to give students ATM cards to access their loans but many students do not want this,” he said.

Ly said that there were still a few students who spend the loans on other things and fail to pay school fees, but he didn’t have a solution to this problem.

Temporary solution

Most universities and colleges have regulations for delayed payment.

According to Nguyen Thi Phuong Minh, a sophomore at Labour and Social Affairs University, students who fail to pay school fees one week before examinations will not be permitted to take the exams.

“Not any of my classmates dares to do so because retaking the exams is very complicated,” Minh said.

Other universities have different ways of dealing with this problem. Thang Long University charges VND10,000 for each day of lateness. Ha Noi Agriculture University eases students’ burdens by permitting them to pay in two instalments. Most schools choose to freeze tests results until the school fee is paid.

Despite the problems of paying fees, half of the 400 students asked said that current tuition was fair.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News