Students urged to repay education loans

 

Starting in 2014, all students finishing their studies with government loans will appear on the list of debtors compiled by the national Credit Bureau. Their repayment records will now be taken into account when they apply for other types of loans at financial institutions.

Yingluck urged all those students to repay their debt, so that the government can channel the fund to younger students. It is the government's duty to provide equal access to education to all, she said.

According to the Finance Ministry's data, about Bt20 billion of student loans have been overdue, from outstanding loans of Bt50 billion. Without repayments from these students, the student loan scheme faces liquidity shortage and seeks a higher budget. For the 2014 fiscal year, Bt17.5 billion was allocated to the scheme, enough for only 35,000 students. In the previous years, loans were extended to over 200,000 students per year. 

Since the scheme was kicked off in 1996, a number of 4 million students have obtained loans.