Draft law widens loan eligibility

Government-sponsored student loans will be extended to ethnic minorities and stateless people born in Thailand under a law being drafted, according to a House committee.

Dr Banyat Jettanajan, Democrat Party MP for Rayong and spokesman of the committee scrutinising the bill on the Student Loan Fund (SLF), said the panel was working to add a clause to broaden its scope.

Dr Banyat said the bill will make student loans available to ethnic minorities and stateless people born in Thailand and those who are in the process of receiving Thai citizenship.

Currently, student loans disbursed by the SLF are offered only to Thai citizens.

He hoped the bill will be passed in its second and third readings and eventually passed into law.

Meanwhile, SLF manager Chainarong Katchapanan said the expiry of an interest rate cut to student loans due to the Covid-19 pandemic will be extended from June 30 to Dec 31.

Mr Chainarong said the rate cut, from 1% to 0.01% per annum, applies to borrowers who have never defaulted on repayment of their loan. There are about 640,000 such people in the SLF system.

Also, borrowers who are continuing to complete their loan repayments and have never defaulted will be entitled to a 5% reduction of the principal.

Those who have missed loan payments but have not faced legal charges for defaulting are qualified to obtain an 80% reduction of late fees.