Slovakia Opens New Round of Student Loan Applications

Bratislava — Slovakia's Fund for the Support of Education (FnPV) has opened a new round of applications for student, pedagogical and stabilization loans, running until the end of September, with a total of 5.5 million euros allocated for the academic year, according to TASR, citing fund representative Nikola Winková.¹²

Loan types and allocations

All student loans carry a four percent interest rate, according to both TASR and Hospodárske noviny. According to TASR, in the current September term 2.5 million euros is allocated for student loans with a guarantor, while 138,000 euros is set aside for loans without a guarantor and 550,000 euros for so-called excellent loans.¹

FnPV has long recorded the highest demand for loans without a guarantor and for excellent loans, and interest in excellent loans has regularly exceeded the allocated funds in recent years, Winková said. "Pri excelentných pôžičkách záujem v posledných rokoch pravidelne prevyšuje vyčlenené finančné prostriedky," she said.¹²

After conditions for loans without a guarantor were adjusted, the fund recorded a significant increase in interest, according to TASR. "Pri pôžičkách bez ručiteľa sme po úprave podmienok zaznamenali výrazný nárast záujmu," Winková said.¹

Stabilization loans widened

A new feature this year is the expansion of stabilization loans to additional shortage-regulated professions, according to both outlets. Two million euros is allocated in the current term for nursing, and a further two million euros for additional professions newly added from healthcare and education. "Okrem ošetrovateľstva, na ktoré sú v tomto termíne vyčlenené dva milióny eur, pribudli ďalšie profesie z oblasti zdravotníctva a školstva, pričom aj na túto novú skupinu sú vyčlenené dva milióny eur," Winková said.¹²

According to TASR, a stabilization loan amounts to 4,000 euros and does not require a guarantor. Winková described it: "Stabilizačná pôžička je vo výške 4000 eur a je bez ručiteľa."¹

Pedagogical loans and other groups

According to TASR, 800,000 euros is allocated in the current term for pedagogical loans. Pedagogical and professional employees, along with other eligible groups, can obtain a loan of up to 15,000 euros at the four percent interest rate, TASR reports.¹

According to Hospodárske noviny, students can obtain loans ranging from 1,000 euros up to 40,000 euros depending on the type of loan.²

Demand and next steps

Because the current application term is still under way, the fund can only evaluate final demand once it has ended, Winková said. "Keďže aktuálny termín ešte prebieha, konečný objem záujmu budeme vedieť vyhodnotiť až po jeho skončení," she said. If interest exceeds the allocated funds, preferential criteria are applied, according to both outlets. "V prípade vyššieho záujmu sa uplatňujú uprednostňujúce kritériá," Winková said.¹²

According to TASR, the next application period will run from 1 to 31 October. FnPV does not separately track applicant statistics by region, and detailed information on loan types, conditions and eligibility is available at www.fnpv.sk, both outlets report.¹²