Turkish President Erdogan Says Govt Has Decided to Cancel Student Loan Interest

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that the country’s government will be canceling the student loan interest, meaning that students will now have to pay only the sum they have borrowed.

As the Daily Sabah reports, this statement was made after a Cabinet meeting when the President addressed the nation.

Erdogan noted that students start paying back their loans two years after completing their studies, and those who can’t find a job during this period can postpone the payment via the e-Government system.

“Until today, the annual update of loan payments was made according to the change in the Domestic Producer Price Index, not a specific interest rate, and no interest was applied,” Erdogan said, according to the newspaper, adding that there have been unexpected numbers in student loan updates due to the recent inflation.

President further stated that some 3,157,000 youngsters are going to benefit from such a decision, including 1,049,000 who are expected to pay after finishing studies, 812,000 who are loan holders but haven’t graduated yet, as well as some 1,295,000 whose debt repayment is followed by tax offices.

“With this decision, we have lightened a load of more than TL 26 billion in total,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by the Daily Sabah.

The report states that in his address, Erdogan also said that it is important to make improvements in the health sector and offer conditions to all health care professionals so they can perform their jobs safely and in peace.

As a result, he pointed out that the government has decided to raise the amount of payment for medicine students from state universities who will get as much as the minimum salary. Previously, this amount was one-third of the minimum salary.

Turkish universities offer a wide range of programs, and they are known for quality education. According to Erdogan, Turkey has a complete system of student loans, scholarships and higher education hostels in the world.    

The country is also a great study destination for international students. In 2021, Turkey was home to 224,053 students, an increase of 21 percent from 2020, when there were 185,047 students.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy confirmed that over 165,000 international students have applied for a Turkish scholarship this year.

In a statement, the President of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities, Abdullah Eren, said that every year, close to 4,000 students benefit from “Türkiye Scholarships,” a higher education program providing scholarships to international students funded by the Turkish government.