Slow loans could hold back student graduation

Student loan funds are being urged to speed up disbursement of loans to senior university students who are about to finish their studies to ensure they meet requirements for graduation.

Preung Kijratporn, rector of Rajabhat Institute's Phra Nakhon campus, said about 100 students who owe tuition fees may not be allowed to graduate, even though they are likely to complete their academic studies next month.

He said the students have been granted loans by the Student Loan Fund (SLF) but the fund operator is slow in disbursing the money.

According to Mr Preung, SLF owes the university about 20 million baht in tuition fees covering 200 students. Half of them are due to complete their academic programmes this semester.

"But we cannot allow them to graduate until the fees are paid up. It is a regulation applied by any university to ensure good budget management. We cannot tear up the rule book to help them," he said.

The university had advised the students to look for other sources of funds.

According to the rector, the problem of unpaid tuition fees is on the rise following the introduction of student loan schemes.

"Student loan operators should work faster to avoid this problem," he said.

Sukhum Chaloeysap, rector of Rajabhat Institute Dusit campus, said fund operators owed the college 155 million baht. Of this amount, 75 million baht is owed by Income Contingent Loan (ICL) and the rest by SLF.

This affects 1,500 students who are in their first and second years.

He said the university has diverted money from its non-education businesses to make up for the unpaid amounts.

About 1,600 first-year students have been denied loans and the university has set aside 108 million baht from its own budget to help shoulder the costs.

If the government cannot secure the students alternative sources of funding when they reach second year, the students will be forced to drop out.

"And it all will be a waste," he said.

Mr Sukhum said student loan schemes have been exploited by politicians to woo votes.

Politicians do not care if there is enough money to fund the scheme while criteria for applications have changed, with many restrictions imposed, he said.

"At first the scheme was restricted to poor students and later it is open to any undergraduate student," he said.

"Some people even come to believe that they do not have to repay. And we have about 150,000 of them facing legal action," he said.

However, he said the university has never encountered a case of a student who cannot pay tuition fees and is not allowed to graduate.

Thada Martin, manager of SLF, said slow disbursement of funds is largely due to paperwork problems. The fund management had improved the loan application and approval process. If the paperwork is cleared, loans can be disbursed within two weeks.