Scholarships to support new students

Students of the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture . Photo: Quang Vinh.

Attracting students with scholarships

The University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) announced that it currently has many scholarship programs for new students of the 50th regular cohort, such as academic achievement scholarships, emergency support scholarships, study support scholarships, and sponsorship scholarships.

With a variety of scholarship packages available for different groups, students can explore and apply for suitable options. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds can register online and complete their applications from August 30th, 2024 to September 10th, 2024. The university plans to award 50 full scholarships worth over 15 million VND and 100 partial scholarships.

The Vietnam Academy of Agriculture has announced scholarship programs totaling 28.95 billion VND for new students of cohort K69 in the 2024 admissions period. Accordingly, the Academy is awarding scholarships such as: 3 scholarships for studying abroad, full scholarships covering 100% of tuition fees, and 1,445 "I Love My Homeland" scholarships for students in the mountainous regions of Northern Vietnam, the Central Highlands, and the Southwestern region...

For the 2024-2025 academic year, Saigon International University will launch three brand-new scholarship programs, fully funding all four years of university studies and requiring no annual repayment conditions.

Specifically, there are 100 scholarships covering 100% of tuition fees for the entire course for students from disadvantaged backgrounds; scholarships supporting the development of high-quality human resources for Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, which sponsor 30% of tuition fees for the entire course for all high school graduates in Thu Duc City and Ho Chi Minh City; and scholarships covering 50% of tuition fees for the entire course (approximately 119.2 - 317.5 million VND/scholarship) for students with outstanding achievements in national and international cultural, sports , and artistic activities.

Phenikaa University is allocating 50 billion VND in scholarships for students enrolling this year, divided into four categories, to support tuition fees for one year or the entire course.

Proposal to expand the scope of eligible borrowers.

Although universities now offer scholarship packages for students, limited funding means that not many students have access to these programs. With the student loan policy, the outreach efforts over the years have been quite effective, resulting in over 3.7 million disadvantaged students receiving preferential loans from the Social Policy Bank to support their studies as of October 2023.

Loan disbursements reached 73,000 billion VND. Outstanding loans under the program exceeded 13,301 billion VND, benefiting over 290,000 households and supporting over 515,000 students. The overdue loan rate was only 0.57% of the total outstanding loans. Currently, the maximum loan amount is 4 million VND per month per student.

However, according to Dr. Bui Lien Ha, Head of the Department of Political Affairs and Student Services (Foreign Trade University), the current loan amount for students is low and does not meet their minimum needs. This is because tuition fees are high, and all costs related to education are becoming increasingly expensive.

Mr. Vu Hai Quan, Director of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, also proposed adjusting the loan amount to ensure that students can cover their living expenses at a level comparable to the average in society and have enough money to pay tuition fees. In addition, it is necessary to expand the scope of students eligible for student loan policies; reduce interest rates; and adjust the loan terms to be longer. Mr. Quan also suggested that the National Assembly should conduct a thematic oversight of student loan policies.

Currently, there are still difficulties and obstacles in the loan application process for students. Therefore, students, their families, and schools hope that the Social Policy Bank will optimize the application procedures, provide detailed, consistent, and clear instructions so that students' families can prepare the necessary documents quickly, easily, and simply.

Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh - former Director of the Department of Professional Education (Ministry of Education and Training) - observed that since the issuance of Decision 157/2007 by the Prime Minister on September 27, 2007, millions of students have been able to borrow funds to pursue their studies, realizing the dreams of poor students to continue their education.

To further expand and enhance the effectiveness of the policy, it is necessary to continue increasing the capital fund of the Social Policy Bank for student loans. In addition, research should be conducted on commercial loan policies for students.

For example, there could be a policy to allow commercial banks to provide loan services to students, instead of only through the Social Policy Bank as is currently the case, in order to diversify loan packages and make them more accessible to students.

"In the context of sharply rising university tuition fees, revising the student loan policy to expand loan sources for students is extremely necessary," emphasized Dr. Hoang Ngoc Vinh.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/hoc-bong-ho-tro-tan-sinh-vien-10289133.html