HA NOI – Students from poor families will be able to delay paying tuition fees at the beginning of the new school year, while some graduates who have not been able to repay student debts will get loan extensions.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan recently instructed the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) to announce the new policy and publish all information on the exemptions before August 30.

He also requested the Finance Ministry to co-ordinate with other ministries and agencies to extend the deadline for students who took out loans but cannot pay their debts because they have not been able to find jobs after graduation.

Nguyen Van Ly, deputy general director of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policy, said that many students who took out loans now could not pay their debts on time due to difficulties in finding jobs during the economic slowdown.

This November the Government will organise a conference on assessing five years of the national credit program to support students financially. So far, the programme has helped more than 2.8 million students secure loans, and seen the bank disburse nearly VND40 trillion (US$ 1.9 billion).