Students who rely on state loans to finish their university
studies may have their loans waived if they go to work in China's
western or remote areas, the Ministry of Education announced
yesterday.
The loan, up to 24,000 yuan (US$4,000) per student, will be paid
by the central government if the graduate promises to work at or
under county-level units in western or remote regions for at least
three years.
The policy applies to all graduates from about 100 universities
attached to the central government, including prestigious Peking
and Tsinghua Universities, and the ministry has urged all
provincial governments to make similar policies.
Cui Bangyan, the ministry's official in charge of the loans,
said such a policy would help adjust the existing misbalance in the
job market.
He said many graduates from universities under the central
government, which are usually better than local ones, are not
willing to work in western and remote regions because of poor
salaries and conditions, but at same time, they cannot find jobs in
cities due to fierce competition.
"We hope the favourable policy will encourage students from key
universities, especially those who face difficulty in repaying
loans, to work in China's western and remote regions, so that the
gap between the city and the countryside can be narrowed," Cui
said.
Graduates have to sign a contract with the university and the
employer to make sure that they will follow the policy before
applying for the waiver.
In principle, only 5 percent of the university's graduates can
get the waiver each year; for universities specializing in
agriculture, forestry, geology and some other majors that usually
have a large number of poor students, the percentage could be up to
8, according to the ministry.
Graduates are allowed to quit their jobs before the contract
ends, but they should repay the loan beforehand. If they fail to,
they will have a stain on their credit record.
The State loan policy, initiated in 1999, is now the major
financing method for cash-strapped students in China's public
universities.
(China Daily September 15, 2006)