Experts doubt the effectiveness of student loans

The well-known economist Gubad Ibadoglu expressed skepticism about the possibility of issue of loans for students from low-income families. In comments posted on his page on Facebook the economist says that the Ministry of Education recently established a special Fund that will be engaged in the issuance of such loans, the maximum amount which will be 4,000 manats. The loan will be issued at 8% per annum (the soft loan will be issued under 6%). Standard loans are issued for 5 years, grace loans for 10 years. Taking into account the current economic situation, the expert believes credit conditions "are complicated." In particular, there is a high-risk of non-repayment of loans amid a general economic crisis and the precarious situation of banks.

The expert considers erroneous linkage of the loan with the level of wages of students’ parents. That is, a student from a poor family, even if he gets excellent marks, but the salary of parents is below a certain level, or if the parents do not work, such students will hardly get the credit. In addition, many families already have unpaid or overdue loans, and they do not give new loans. For this reason, the expert considers it appropriate to allocate credits based on the ranking of universities, students of specialization, the probability of finding work in this specialty. -03D-