Since 2022, when the maximum loan amount for students was adjusted from 2.5 million VND/month to 4 million VND/month, many disadvantaged families in the province have been given more opportunities to invest in their children's education. Many people liken student loan capital to capital for the future. Thanks to this loan, many students have continued to pursue their dreams of attending university and becoming useful citizens for the country.
Ms. Vo Thi Sinh (left) shares her experience of borrowing policy-based credit with Ms. Le Thi Hien, head of the savings and loan group of the Nai Cuu village women's association - Photo: HN
Recalling the journey of raising five children through university, Ms. Vo Thi Sinh (born in 1966), from Nai Cuu village, Trieu Thanh commune, Trieu Phong district, couldn't help but be emotional. This journey was filled with sweat, tears, and the unwavering determination of all family members to overcome difficulties.
"My children are eager to learn, and their parents are determined to nurture their dreams, which is why we have achieved what we have today. However, without the loan from the Social Policy Bank, our dreams wouldn't have come true," Ms. Sinh shared.
Ms. Sinh has five children, the oldest born in 1987 and the youngest in 2003. Raising and educating them from elementary school all the way to high school has been an extraordinary effort for her and her husband. Ms. Sinh's husband has poor health, so she single-handedly works hard in the fields and raises livestock, saving every penny to support her children's education.
So when their eldest daughter was accepted into Hue University of Education, before they could even celebrate, the couple faced the worry of not knowing where to get the money for her to continue her studies. But seeing the burning desire to attend university in her eyes, the couple had no choice but to borrow money from everywhere so that she could enroll on time.
When her eldest daughter entered her second year of university, her second daughter followed suit. At this point, the family was facing extreme financial difficulties, so Ms. Sinh decided to wait until her eldest daughter graduated before considering her second daughter's education. Amidst this turmoil, Ms. Sinh learned about the Social Policy Bank's student loan program. She borrowed two packages, each worth 8 million VND per year with a low interest rate, to cover her children's tuition fees. In this way, all five of Ms. Sinh's children benefited from this student loan program.
“The hardships aren't entirely over yet, but seeing my children pursue their dreams of attending university and finding stable jobs after graduation makes me feel very fulfilled. They understand their parents' struggles, so after graduating and starting work, they save money and send it back to me to pay off the debt. To date, I have repaid all the student loan principal and have taken out another loan of 150 million VND under the near-poor household program to raise pigs and chickens,” Ms. Sinh said.
In Nai Cuu village, almost every family has a child attending university. Like Ms. Sinh, many families in the village have borrowed preferential loans for students from the Social Policy Bank. This capital has helped countless children in the village open the door to their future. Currently, Nai Cuu village has 8 savings and loan groups with 84 people who have borrowed student loans to study at universities and colleges nationwide.
Ms. Le Thi Hien, head of the Savings and Credit Group of the Nai Cuu village women's association, said that her group has 40 members, with a total outstanding loan balance of nearly 3.8 billion VND. Currently, 11 students have outstanding loans under the student loan program totaling 1.5 billion VND, with an interest rate of 0.55% per month. In recent years, the group has helped 25 students borrow over 2 billion VND for their studies, and they have now repaid all their debts. On average, each student can borrow a maximum of 4 million VND per month to cover their educational expenses.
“This money is very meaningful to the local people because Nai Cuu village is mainly agricultural, so investing in their children's university and college education is very difficult. After graduation, the children of the village often stay in big cities to work and send money back to their parents every month to pay off the debt. Everyone complies with the bank's regulations, so the group I lead has no members with overdue debts and no accumulated interest,” Ms. Hien said.
Student loan programs have now spread throughout the localities and are being well received by many people. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Chi, a credit officer at the Gio Linh District Branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, in the area under her responsibility (Phong Binh, Gio Mai, and Trung Son communes), as of June 30, 2024, 172 households had accessed student loans with outstanding debt of 9,945 million VND.
100% of the loan capital was used for its intended purpose, with people primarily using it to pay tuition fees, purchase computers for online learning, and cover other study expenses. After graduation, most students have stable jobs and help their families repay the loan to the Social Policy Bank on time as agreed upon before borrowing. To date, the student loan program at this unit has not had any overdue loans.
To maximize the effectiveness of this loan capital, the Gio Linh District Branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies focuses on coordinating with organizations, associations, and local authorities to disseminate information to villages and hamlets so that people are aware of and can use the loan capital effectively. At the beginning of the new school year, the branch collaborates with high schools in the area to conduct awareness campaigns on student loans according to Decision 157/2007/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister .
Simultaneously, through the activities of parent associations, credit officers guide families in need and eligible for student loans to access student loan funds. During the loan process, households repay their loans on time, contributing to increasing the capital of the student loan fund, ensuring that the same amount of capital benefits multiple generations of students. As a result, many students receive loans for their studies, find stable employment after graduation, repay the principal in full to the bank, and have a stable income, contributing to the economic development of their families.
In the coming period, the Quang Tri branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies will continue to promote and encourage people to access and improve the effectiveness of using policy credit funds for students.
Minh Thao
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/nguon-von-cho-tuong-lai-186722.htm
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