"Giving wings" to students with difficult circumstances to go to school

Trieu Son Social Policy Bank staff check the use of student loans in An Nong commune.

For Mr. Le Sy Vinh's family in Tho Long commune, the main source of income depends on agriculture. Policy credit capital is not only a "lifesaver" that motivates the family to develop the economy , but also helps his family have the conditions to raise their children to go to school. Mr. Vinh shared: "In 2019, my eldest daughter passed the entrance exam to Hanoi University of Science and Technology. At that time, I was both happy and worried because I thought about the expenses for her 5 years of study. With the guidance and support of the staff of the Social Policy Bank of Trieu Son, the head of the savings and loan group, I borrowed capital from the student credit program. By 2023, my twin daughters were also admitted to universities. The fact that they were admitted to universities made my family both happy and worried. Without the policy capital, my family would not have been able to afford to raise my children to study until now. Currently, my eldest daughter has graduated from school and has a stable job, so she can help her parents gradually pay off the loan when it is due."

Thanks to the loan from the student loan program, the children of Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong in Quan Hau village, An Nong commune have the opportunity to pursue their dream of going to school. Ms. Huong said: “In 2021, my daughter received a notice of admission to the National Economics University. I was worried about how to manage because the tuition fee for my child to go to school was quite high, so I was guided to access preferential student loan capital. Up to now, my family has borrowed 145 million VND from this program to cover my child's study expenses. This year, my second daughter has just been admitted to Hanoi University of Technology, and I was guided by the staff of the Trieu Son Social Policy Bank to complete the procedures for borrowing capital from the student loan program. If there was no sharing and support from the student loan credit capital, my child would have had to drop out of school halfway.”

Mr. Vinh and Ms. Huong's children are just two of thousands of students in the province who have access to policy credit capital to continue to realize their dream of going to school. Accordingly, the credit program for students officially started in 2007 under Decision No. 157 dated September 27, 2007 of the Prime Minister . Borrowers are students from poor households, near-poor households, and households with average living standards according to the provisions of law; students whose families have financial difficulties due to accidents, illnesses, natural disasters, fires, and epidemics. The maximum loan amount is 4,000,000 VND/month/student. By the end of August 2025, the total outstanding loan program for students in the province reached more than 618 billion VND, with more than 10,000 customers borrowing capital.

With the goal of "No student has to drop out of school due to lack of funds", entering the new school year 2025-2026, Thanh Hoa Social Policy Bank has proactively prepared enough capital to promptly meet the demand for study loans in the province. Recently, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 29 dated August 28, 2025 on credit for students, master's students, and biological researchers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Accordingly, the above subjects are allowed to borrow the entire tuition fee (after deducting scholarships and other financial support from the school, if any) as confirmed by the school; living expenses and other study expenses are up to 5 million VND/month, loan interest rate is 4.8%/year. This is a deeply humane program, promptly meeting the needs of students to cover tuition, living expenses and other study costs while studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics. After the decision was issued, Thanh Hoa Social Policy Bank coordinated with entrusted socio-political organizations, directed transaction offices to promote propaganda to people about the purpose and meaning of the program through many forms such as distributing leaflets, through mass media...

As a land with a tradition of learning, every year, Thanh Hoa province has thousands of students passing the entrance exams to colleges, universities, and vocational training institutions nationwide. However, due to the burden of tuition fees, not every family can afford to send their children to school. In that context, the implementation of policy credit capital for student loans is a program with profound humanistic meaning, "giving wings" to the dream of going to school, creating a future for students in difficult circumstances. Through that, it also encourages the movement of studying and starting a business for young people, helping them have stable job opportunities in the future.

Article and photos: Khanh Phuong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/chap-canh-cho-hoc-sinh-sinh-vien-co-hoan-canh-kho-khan-den-truong-261147.htm