LookAtVietnam – The Government is determined to ensure that a lack of money will not stop any students from attending school, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

More capital should be sought to meet the demand of poor students. (Photo: VNN)

He said the decision helped more than 1,335 disadvantaged students obtain loans worth more than VND13.5 trillion (US$759 million).

“Over the past two years, no student has had to drop out of school as a result of a lack of personal finance,” he said, adding that given the States’ limited budget, the result proves the great lengths the Party and State went in order to make sure students could continue getting an education.”

During the online conference, relevant ministries and agencies discussed measures to tackle shortcomings in implementing the decision.

The Bank for Social Policy said some localities were still confused about the criteria for providing students with credits and determining who would be eligible.

Representatives from MoET said information dissemination as related to the policy remained limited, and that an information exchange mechanism was necessary between schools, localities, banks and students.

To tackle the problems, the Bank for Social Policy said more capital should be sought to meet the demand of poor students, information dissemination to schools and universities about the policy should be more rapid, and loan procedures should be simplified.

MoET proposed that the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the Bank for Social Policy create stricter regulations to punish students and households using loans for a purpose other than what was intended and for local officials not administering the loans properly.

Deputy PM Nhan urged MoET, MoLISA and the Bank for Social Policy to issue a joint resolution before July 10 to guide the provision of student loans for the upcoming academic year.

Inspections on the implementation of the policy would be made at nine provinces and cities after at the end of the first term of the new academic year.

The Ministry of Finance had transferred VND4 trillion ($222 million) to the Bank for Social Policy to implement the policy for the new academic year as of August 15, Nhan said.

Nhan also said the Government planned to approve a project to offer vocational training for 1 million rural workers and urged MoLISA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to review the project to prevent providing loans to those already receiving benefits under another programme.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News