POST REPORTERS
The Ministry of Finance should reconsider its criteria for the Student Loan Fund (SLF), which have barred students from schools that fail to pass a quality assessment from getting loans, says the Ministry of Education.
The failure to secure loans may be contributing to an early drop-out rate, officials believe.
Officials say 1,221 schools and vocational colleges nationwide have failed to pass either the internal or external quality tests set by the Education Ministry or the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (Onesqa).
Students from low-income families attending these schools will not qualify if they apply for the student loans.
Education deputy permanent secretary Supat Champathong said it was not the students' fault that their schools failed to pass the quality evaluations. The ministry asked the SLF to reconsider its criteria, at least for this fiscal year.
Mr Supat said if the Finance Ministry agreed to the request, the Education Ministry would send its people to talk to students who are in need of financial support about financial discipline and make it clear to them that all borrowers are duty bound to repay the loans they receive.
"This would help many students to gain access to higher education and reduce the early school drop-out rates," he said, adding the ministry also needs to cultivate good morals among borrowers.
All students applying for a loan need to realise that if they did not repay their debts, the next generation of students would not be able to enjoy similar opportunities, he added.
According to SLF's latest data, more than four million students have loans, worth about 470 billion baht. Of that amount, about 800,000 have faced lawsuits after failing to repay loans, totalling 36 billion baht.
POST REPORTERS The Ministry of Finance should reconsider its criteria for the Student Loan Fund (SLF), which have barred students from schools that fail to pass a quality assessment from getting loans, says the Ministry of Education. The failure to secure loans may be contributing to an early drop-out rate, officials believe. Officials say 1,221 schools and vocational colleges nationwide have failed to pass either the internal or external quality tests set by the Education Ministry or the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (Onesqa). Students from low-income families attending these schools will not qualify if they apply for the student loans. Education deputy permanent secretary Supat Champathong said it was not the students' fault that their schools failed to pass the quality evaluations. The ministry asked the SLF to reconsider its criteria, at least for this fiscal year. Mr Supat said if the Finance Ministry agreed to the request, the Education Ministry would send its people to talk to students who are in need of financial support about financial discipline and make it clear to them that all borrowers are duty bound to repay the loans they receive. "This would help many students to gain access to higher education and reduce the early school drop-out rates," he said, adding the ministry also needs to cultivate good morals among borrowers. All students applying for a loan need to realise that if they did not repay their debts, the next generation of students would not be able to enjoy similar opportunities, he added. According to SLF's latest data, more than four million students have loans, worth about 470 billion baht. Of that amount, about 800,000 have faced lawsuits after failing to repay loans, totalling 36 billion baht.
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