VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam Bank for Social Policy has said that it had sufficient funds to provide credit for poor students to pursue their studies this academic year, according to the bank's director of credit for disadvantaged students, Lo Van Duc.

During an online roundtable discussion held by the Government web portal yesterday, Duc said the funds allocated for this programme came from a World Bank loan package for poverty reduction that was worth 2.5 trillion (US$119 million), and from debt collection activities that were able to retrieve 2.6 trillion ($124 million) as of September, forecast to reach 3 trillion ($143 million) by the end of this year.

Duc's view was consolidated by the Ministry of Finance's Banking and Financial Institutions Department's deputy director, Nguyen Ngoc Anh. He said due to its importance, the programme had received close monitoring from the Party, State and Government to ensure stable funding for its implementation.

He said, according to his calculations, if the loan cycle was five years, in order for it to function properly, the revenue needed would be from VND45 to 50 trillion ($2.1 to 2.4 billion).

Anh said his ministry had worked with relevant agencies to secure enough capital for the revolving fund of which one-third came from the State and the rest was raised from the market.

One concern raised during the discussion was whether the support was enough. As of now, each beneficiary was able to borrow VND1 million per month, but according to field surveys, the monthly living expenses in big cities where most universities were situated were estimated to be VND3 million.

Anh agreed that the loans were not enough but the aim of the programme was to attract different sources apart from the State budget into funding education for poor students. Even at this rate, the total funds needed were already VND45 to 50 trillion ($2.1 to 2.4 billion).

"If we increase the rate, I am afraid it would put the programme's feasibility in jeopardy. When we set the rate, we have to examine carefully the solvency of the prospective beneficiaries," he said.

He said at least the loan would enable students to cover tuition fees, while their families could cover living expenses.

VietNamNet/VNS