The education student loan is a financial mechanism provided by the state to support students pursuing higher and secondary specialized education in paying their tuition fees. The loan is primarily granted under preferential or standard terms, with no repayment required during the study period and a certain grace period. The goal is to ensure access to education for young people, regardless of their financial means.
It is interesting to know, who cannot benefit from the education student loan?
Regarding the topic, AzEdu.az has sent an inquiry to the Education Student Loan Fund (ESLF).
In response to our inquiry, the Fund stated that the term education student loan refers to long-term education loans of social (2 percent annual) and standard (6 percent annual) types, which are accessible to everyone, especially students from low-income families, and are provided to students pursuing full-time and paid education at the expense of the state budget:
"Education student loans are intended for citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan who are studying full-time and on a paid basis within the normative period of education at higher, secondary specialized, and vocational education institutions operating in accordance with legislative requirements within the country, and who do not have academic debt from previous semesters.
According to the existing criteria, students pursuing distance learning do not have the opportunity to benefit from the education student loan. According to the “Rules for Granting Education Student Loans at the Expense of the Education Student Loan Fund”, only students who are citizens of Azerbaijan and are pursuing full-time education are eligible to benefit from the loan.
We noted that education student loans are applicable only to citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In this regard, education student loans are currently not provided for foreign students. However, students who have been admitted to higher education institutions operating in the Republic of Azerbaijan through transfer from abroad and who hold Azerbaijani citizenship can benefit from the education student loan
If a student has academic debt (deficiency) from the previous semester, the provision of the loan for that semester is suspended. To benefit from the loan again, the student must not have academic debt in the next semester, and their overall grade point average (GPA) must be a minimum of 71 points.
At the same time, students studying under state order cannot use this loan because they do not pay tuition fees. Education student loans are granted only during the normative period of education. Students whose study period is extended beyond the established normative period of education cannot benefit from the loan".
