In August this year, the staff of the education department in Xiangyang, Hubei Province handled the formalities of student-origin credit loan for college students. Photo by Yang Tao (People’s Vision)
In September, it is the school season. With a bright dream for the future, many students step into the university gate. Are those college students with financial difficulties in their families worried about tuition fees while enjoying themselves?
Ensuring students from poor families to enter school smoothly is the proper meaning to realize educational equity. After years of development, China’s student financial aid system is becoming more and more perfect, and the security is constantly increasing. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the country has sponsored 520 million students in six years, with a total investment of 886.4 billion yuan. What subsidy policies do college students with financial difficulties enjoy? What are the new requirements?
The student loan covers a wide range.
Encourage commercial banks to actively participate and explore more credit lines and repayment methods.
This year, Wang Fei was admitted to Henan Normal University. Since he entered school, he has been excited by the beautiful campus, kind teachers and enterprising atmosphere.
Wang Fei’s family is in financial difficulties, but he has never worried about tuition. "When I was in high school, I knew I could apply for a national student loan. As long as you work hard, you won’t miss school. "
"The admission notice details the application process for student loans." Wang Fei said that he first filled in his personal information on the National Development Bank’s student loan information network and applied; Then take the application form to the relevant department for seal; Finally, with the notice, ID card, household registration book and other documents, accompanied by parents, you can go to the county-level funding center to handle it. "I applied for a student loan of 4,300 yuan, just enough for tuition and accommodation in the first academic year."
"In order to prevent college students from dropping out of school due to family financial difficulties, China has woven a funding network for higher education, forming a multi-subject participation and multi-level funding system." Qu Shaowei, a professor at the School of Law, University of Science and Technology Beijing, said. At present, the state-level funding mainly includes national scholarships, national grants, national student loans, work-study programs and so on. Among them, the national student loan has the advantages of low threshold, low interest rate and convenient application, and has become the most popular choice for college students from poor families.
Qu Shaowei introduced that national student loans are divided into student-origin student loans and campus student loans, and most people choose the former. After receiving the letter of admission, college students from poor families can apply to financial institutions such as the China Development Bank, apply at the place where they come from, and enjoy financial discount. This year, CDB continued to expand the coverage area of student-origin student loans, adding 65 districts and counties in Hebei, Fujian and Guangdong, and expanding the coverage area to 2309 districts and counties in 26 provinces.
There are a large number of national student loans, and the assistance is great. According to the data of the Ministry of Education, as of August 31 this year, 3.84 million students from poor families have applied for student loans, with a total contract value of 27.5 billion yuan, exceeding the amount of loans issued last year.
However, some college students from poor families also encounter new problems when applying for student loans. First of all, for schools and majors with higher fees, the amount of student loans is difficult to meet. Qu Shaowei said: "The tuition fees for private colleges and art majors are generally about 10,000 yuan per year, and the maximum amount of student loans is 8,000 yuan. In addition, the total number of students in student loans is controlled, and students who are at the boundary of difficulties and non-difficulties may not apply. It is more difficult to rely solely on family burdens."
Secondly, some students have repayment pressure. Cheng Wei, a student at Henan University of Technology, said that according to the requirements, borrowers should pay off their loans when they graduate. "But most people just work and have no savings, and the burden of repayment falls on their parents."
"As an important supplement to national student loans, commercial banks should be encouraged to develop general student loans to meet the more diverse needs of students." He Fei, a senior researcher at the Financial Research Center of the Bank of Communications, said that the student loans of commercial banks can be more flexible in the setting of repayment time and methods, which is different from the current policy banks’ requirement of "repayment immediately after graduation" and can give students who have just stepped into society enough "breathing" time.
Student loan products have strong public welfare, low interest rate and even no need for mortgage guarantee. How to improve the enthusiasm of commercial banks? He Fei suggested that in terms of guarantee methods, qualified insurance institutions can be combined to jointly issue commercial student loans based on guaranteed insurance; Cooperate with government departments, with local governments as guarantees, to solve the worries of commercial banks, and even include relatives with stable economic sources in the loan target, so as to reduce the probability of loan default.
"It is more important to give full play to the role of the personal credit information system." He Fei said that improving the personal credit information system will help banks to restrain the behavior of lenders, reduce the risk of violations, and encourage banks to explore more student loans with confidence and boldness.
Accurate distribution of local subsidies
According to the characteristics of the industry, local governments and mass organizations provide targeted assistance, which not only "transfuses blood" for needy families, but also enhances their "hematopoietic" ability.
Chen Hu, from Fengle Village, Yindingtu Town, Wuyuan County, Bayannaoer, Inner Mongolia, felt very proud of her daughter’s university admission notice. Although the family is not rich, my daughter is a success. She scored 633 points in the college entrance examination this year and was admitted to Sichuan University.
After the joy, Chen Hu was in trouble. Tuition, living expenses and other expenses add up to a lot. Last year, he diagnosed ampullary carcinoma of duodenum, and the operation cost was more than 150,000 yuan, which made the poor life worse. "But even if you sell iron in a saucepan, you have to let your children go to college." Chen Hu said.
There are many poor families in Wuyuan County. Last year, the county accurately identified 3,385 poor families with 6,225 people, some of whom were poor due to their studies. "No matter how poor you are, you can’t be poor dolls. Children can cross the wooden bridge with thousands of troops, but you can’t fall on the tuition fee. We must ensure that they can smoothly enter the university gate." According to the relevant person in charge of Wuyuan County Education Bureau, the county education bureau provides a scholarship of 10,000 yuan/year to college students from poor families who have not joined the subsistence allowance, which is borne by the county finance. The United Front Work Department of the County Party Committee used the "Pan-Ocean Aid Action" of the United Front Work System to subsidize poor families, disabled families or disabled undergraduate and junior college students who set up a file, with a subsidy of 5,000 yuan per person.
"The county education bureau grants 10,000 yuan a year, and the education bureau grants 2,000 yuan to the funding center. ‘ Pan-Ocean Aid Action ’ The subsidy is5,000 yuan, and the problem of children’s schooling expenses has been basically solved this year. " Chen Hu, get the bill.
All kinds of mass organizations actively participate. Wang Fengyu, from Danling County, Meishan, Sichuan, is a senior at Chengdu University of Technology and is preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination. However, when Wang Fengyu received the admission notice in 2014, the whole family had been worried about tuition fees. Wang Fengyu’s father was paralyzed after a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, and his mother took care of him at home, so his family’s economic situation was stretched. After learning about her family’s situation, the Working Committee of Danling County sent a scholarship of 4,000 yuan in time, and actively contacted education, poverty alleviation and other departments to assist in applying for other aid programs.
Qu Shaowei introduced that local subsidies have played an increasingly important role in ensuring the enrollment of college students with difficulties. Education, civil affairs, poverty alleviation, United front and other government departments, as well as mass organizations such as women’s federations, youth league committees, and work committees, raise funds through various channels to provide students with free subsidies.
For families with financial difficulties, subsidizing tuition fees is only "blood transfusion", and it is still difficult to bear the cost of follow-up education if they lack the ability of "hematopoiesis". Whether it is government departments or mass organizations, according to the characteristics of the industry, provide more targeted and comprehensive assistance to prevent the second return to poverty. Wuyuan County Poverty Alleviation Office has dynamically adjusted Chen Hu into a poverty-stricken household with a registered card, and designated hospitals in the county pay for hospitalization first, with a reimbursement rate of 90%. 8 ewes were distributed to enhance the ability to increase income steadily. "As long as you work hard, you don’t have to worry about it in the future, and your niece can go to school with peace of mind." Chen Hu said.
Qu Shaowei said that there are many sources of local subsidy funds, and the sum of them is relatively large, and there is no need to repay them. Therefore, it is necessary to make the procedures open and help accurately, prevent related households at all levels, and improve the efficiency of the use of subsidy funds.
How to ensure that student aid funds help those who really need it? Wen Wenhua, executive director of the Working Committee of Danling County, introduced that first of all, the distribution target should be accurate. By docking with the education and poverty alleviation departments, the Commission has mastered the relevant information of students, and at the same time visited schools and conducted household surveys for verification. Secondly, the distribution procedures are open and transparent, and the list of grants is publicized in time and subject to social supervision. Wuyuan county will combine independent application with the department’s step-by-step check to ensure the accurate distribution of funding. According to reports, the sponsor fills in the application form on the website of the government department and provides ID cards, notices and other documents. Relevant departments jointly review, according to the classification of liberal arts and science, from high score to low score, the best is included in the scope of funding, and timely publicity.
Strengthening financial supervision to prevent loan fraud
Intensify efforts to crack down on illegal and criminal activities, guide formal financial institutions to make formal financial products, and innovate products and services in a reasonable and orderly manner.
In the interview, some college students admitted that although the tuition and accommodation fees are available, the economic pressure is still great. Liu Li of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics works two jobs in her spare time. "Daily expenses, learning materials, etc. are also counted. I worked as a student assistant in the academic affairs office of the college for two years, and at the same time worked as a part-time teacher in the online classroom of the Confucius Institute. Together, my two jobs earned about 1,500 yuan a month. "
"The student assistant position is specially set up for poor students, and the college makes reasonable arrangements according to the course situation. However, online teaching is time-consuming, and it is difficult to take care of it when there are many homework. " Liu Li said.
Zhang Mingshen, a graduate student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, feels the same way. Many students from poor families don’t want to bother their families any more, hoping to bear the tuition alone. However, there are few work-study jobs, and it is difficult to concentrate on their studies because it is time-consuming to find a part-time job in an enterprise.
"Some students around us have small loan needs, but all kinds of Internet financial products and campus loans full of routines make us afraid to touch them easily." Zhang Ming said.
In recent years, some institutions have engaged in illegal credit activities under the cloak of "internet finance", and some college students have been recruited, which has caused serious physical, mental and property damage, which is regrettable. The financial supervision department suspended online lending institutions to carry out online lending business for college students, and made it clear that institutions established without approval were not allowed to enter the campus to provide credit services, thus curbing the spread of campus loans.
"The loan for college students may be the first time in their lives. Many people lack financial knowledge and discernment. The government must crack down on those illegal and criminal acts that exploit loopholes." He Fei said, we will resolutely ban intermediaries that do not have loan qualifications, severely crack down on borrowers who disrupt the market, and achieve effective control from the source of loans. Increase the punishment for illegal acts such as loan fraud and violent collection.
Blocking the side door requires opening the main door. Dong Ximiao, a senior researcher at Chongyang Financial Research Institute of Renmin University of China, suggested that formal financial institutions such as commercial banks should actively develop legal and compliant financial products and services in response to the reasonable borrowing needs of students. For example, provide moderate credit cards, consumer loans, business loans and so on.
"College students’ credit products must adhere to the principle of small amount and installment, effectively control the total amount of loans of a single subject, and prevent the emergence of multi-head vicious loans. At the same time, it is necessary to simplify the process, optimize the quality of service, and enhance the lending experience of young people. " He Fei said.
"The most important thing is to strengthen education and make up for college students ‘ Finance course ’ ‘ Financial management course ’ Guide them to establish a correct concept of consumption. " Dong Ximiao said that banks, universities and students’ families should join hands to carry out various educational activities to enhance the awareness and ability of college students to identify fraud and prevent risks. At the same time, encourage students to develop good consumption habits and put an end to excessive consumption.
"No matter what kind of funding, we must not forget to educate people. Cultivate college students’ good moral qualities such as contract spirit, honesty and self-reliance, and encourage them to change their destiny and repay the society through struggle. " Qu Shaowei said. (Wang Hao Zhang Shuangshuang)
