Social policy-based loan helps children of ethnic minorities go to school

With the Student Loan Program implemented by the Bank for Social Policies (BSPs), the loan amount is 40 million VND/school year/student; the interest rate is equivalent to 0.55%/month; the maximum loan period is twice the disbursement period, plus a one-year grace period... This program has helped many young people from ethnic minorities have more opportunities to go to school.

Schoolgirl Nong Thi Thuy Nhung (Tay ethnic group, Hamlet 8, Thanh Son Commune) helps her family work in the fields during summer vacation. Photo: Van Truyen

This contributes to increasing the proportion of trained and skilled young people in ethnic minority areas of the province.

Going to school thanks to policy capital

These days, Vu Thi Oanh, Head of the Savings and Loan Group in Hamlet 8, Thanh Son Commune, is reaching out to both local authorities and residents to learn about students from the hamlet who have successfully gained admission to colleges and universities.

Oanh said: The hamlet has a large population of ethnic minorities. In recent times, the lives of the people have improved significantly, but for some disadvantaged families, coming up with tens of millions of VND at once to pay their children’s tuition fees when starting their academic school year is not easy. This greatly affects each family’s decision on whether to allow their children to continue their education after graduating from high schools.

Schoolgirl Nong Thi Thuy Nhung (Tay ethnic group, Hamlet 8, Thanh Son Commune) said: This school year, I am entering my third year at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (under the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City). My family has more than 2 rods of fields, 1 sow, and my parents work as hired laborers. When I was admitted to university, my whole family was more worried than happy because the cost of studying was beyond my family’s means. Thanks to the Head of the Savings and Loan Group, my father learned about the policy loan and applied for a loan to help me go to school. While studying, I found a part-time job. During summer vacation, I try to help my parents with housework and field work.

Meanwhile, in Dinh Quan Commune, Ka Bieu (Ma ethnic group) has a daughter who is in her second year of university in Ho Chi Minh City. Her and her husband's main job is peeling vegetables as hired workers for traders.

Ka Bieu shared: "When my daughter was admitted to university, I was very worried because in addition to paying for her accommodation and meals, we had to cover her tuition fee which is a significant amount compared to our income. I hesitated a lot and then decided to contact the Savings and Loan Group to apply for loans to pay my daughter's tuition. This loan capital is like a "lifeline" for my family, enabling my daughter to continue her higher education and have better opportunities in the future."

Currently, Ka Bieu's daughter is the only young person in the Ma ethnic community in Hiep Nghia Hamlet who is a student, and also one of the four young people of the Ma ethnic group here who have been and are studying at university.

Similarly, Hua Thi Thai's family (Hoa ethnic group, Cam My Commune) has 4 children who have accessed the Student Loan Program to go to school. Thai said: Paying tuition fees for 4 children at once is almost impossible for a purely agricultural family with little land like hers. Therefore, along with the encouragement of her parents and the efforts of her children, policy capital is the decisive factor for her children to go to school completely.

Currently, Thai's family is one of a few ethnic minority households in Dong Nai province with many children studying at universities.

Families who wish to borrow policy capital for their children to go to school can contact 4,542 savings and loan groups in hamlets, neighborhoods, and villages; transaction points of the BSPs located at 95 commune and ward People's Committees and 21 BSPs transaction offices in Dong Nai province for guidance on loan procedures as regulated.

No students in need of help left behind

The BSPs system in the province has been and is reviewing the needs and applications for the Student Loan Program from families, including ethnic minorities.

The loan program is currently applied to poor and near-poor households, orphaned students, and families with average living standards; students whose families face financial difficulties due to accidents, illness, natural disasters, fires, or epidemics. In addition, this academic year, the VBSP also extended loans to medical students after graduation and workers whose land has been reclaimed.

To be eligible for study loans, students must be living in a family legally residing in the locality; first-year students must have an admission notice or a confirmation of enrollment. For students from the second year onwards, they must have a confirmation of current enrollment at the school and not have been administratively sanctioned for gambling, drug addiction, theft, or smuggling.

For students of medical majors after graduation and workers whose land has been reclaimed, the loan conditions follow Decision 09/2016/QD-TTg dated on March 2, 2016, of the Prime Minister on credit for students of medical majors after graduation, during their practical training at medical examination and treatment facilities to obtain a practice certificate, and Decision 12/2024/QD-TTg dated on July 31, 2024, of the Prime Minister on mechanisms and policies for employment and vocational training mechanism and policy for people whose land has been reclaimed.

Ngo Manh Chinh, Director of the Xuan Loc VBSP Transaction Office, stated: In the 2024-2025 academic year, the transaction office has provided loans to 894 students, and many of these cases are children from ethnic minority families. To prepare for the effective implementation of this loan program in the 2025-2026 academic year, the transaction office has reviewed to identify the number of families in need of new loans and continuing loans for their children's education.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thanh Vu, Director of the Dinh Quan VBSP Transaction Office, also said: The area managed by the transaction office is wide, with a large ethnic minority population. Recently, the transaction office, together with the local authorities and the Head of the Savings and Loan Group, has coordinated to review families with students to provide them with dedicated guidance. This contributes to the locality's efforts to increase the proportion of trained ethnic minority laborers, creating opportunities for ethnic minority youth to pursue their dreams and change their lives positively.

By: Van Truyen

Translated by: Mai Nga – Thu Ha