Ramil Abbasov, Chairman of the Spektr Center for Research and Development and expert Nadir İsrafilov gave an interview on the education credits to Azadinform Agency.
One of the key issues on the agenda is the drafting of the law on education loans. This was stated by the chairman of the Committee on Science and Education of the Parliament, Isa Habibbayli. According to him, the majority of appeals to the committee is related to the payment of tuition fees for students: A draft of law on education loans will be prepared. We are already in talks with the Ministry of Education and relevant ministries. The Ministry of Education has prepared and submitted its proposals in this regard to the Ministry of Finance ”.
Commenting on the issue to Azadinform, a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Education, expert Nadir Israfilov said that the law was being delayed. However, the accession of Azerbaijan to the Bologna system in the first five years of 2000 made this issue even more relevant. There are enough students in Azerbaijan to get paid education. Taking into account all of this, a draft law on educational credit has been developed. As far as I know, the proposal was not considered profitable since it was suggested that a maximum 5% interest rate should be allocated during the discussion of the project. Because the interest rates of banks in the country ranged between 17-34%. Despite these and other reasons the draft law on education loans has been repeatedly debated at the sessions of the National Assembly, it has not yet been considered acceptable. In any case, the passage of such a law would allow the students to stay away from social welfare while receiving education, at least for a fee. They would have the opportunity to repay their debts as soon as they finished their education. The benefit of the state would be that skilled staff is being trained, and it will contribute to the development of the country as long as that student operates. ”
Ramil Abbasov, Chairman of the Board of the Spektr Center for Research and Development, spoke to Azadinform about the law-making mechanism: “In recent years, many educational reforms have been conducted. It is time for reforming educational loans. According to world practice, public and private institutions provide financial support to students in a variety of ways. This support includes some services such as scholarships, student loans for living expenses, student loans for tuition, financial support for housing and nutrition, and subsidies. Students’ parents are exempt from taxes for the education of their children. In addition to this general support, students must pay for their own tuition and living expenses. For this purpose, students in public or private institutions can earn money by working in accordance with the law. These facilities may be subject to certain discounts because of student support. Generally, a student may be given a number of tax and other benefits for the student he/she is responsible for, regardless of whether he or she is a natural person or a legal entity for paying off educational credit, which would also give them additional incentives. That is, they will have to pay for their own allowance to benefit from this privilege. It is also important to have an institution overseeing all of these, at the end of the school year, to make a decision to continue supporting those students by the end of the school year by getting information about the course duration and cost. Even those benefits can be grouped based on the student’s grades. For example, granting a lower interest rate to a student with better grades, etc. This way credit institutions can repay a portion of the loan they received during the summer with their students. It will also encourage the student to read better. I think this way it will be more interesting to study. ”
The expert noted that students of any level and degree program can be given loans without any distinction between public and private university students: “How the loan will be provided by the responsible institution. This arrangement includes who and how the student will benefit. The number of students who will receive an education loan is determined by the institution to determine the monthly loan amount for success. If there is no obstacle to getting an education and continuing education, a student may be given credit for the duration of his or her education in the institution. Continuation of the credit depends on student success. Success criteria for student loan applicants are required each year in September. Higher education institutions report at least October each year to students who have been found to be unsuccessful, in accordance with the credits determined by the competent authorities. Loans for students who have been reported to be unsuccessful by educational institutions are not repaid. Or it may be possible to set a time limit, which may then apply again under certain conditions after making a grade for the lessons. In general, if we want to provide better education, it is possible to attract many economic entities across the country by giving students the privileges in many areas through student cards. For example, public transport, hotels, restaurants, tourism, airports and so on. It is possible to give a loan in a distributed or joint form. Thus, student loans can be divided between universities, institutions, and students. In this case, all three parties will benefit from the forms defined by the legislation. In the end, I would like to say that we can discuss other options, discussing the above-mentioned issues with interested parties. ”
