U.S. gives loans to RI students

JAKARTA (JP): A zero-interest loan program has been launched in the United States to help students from Indonesia and three other Asian countries affected by the economic crisis.

The Institute of International Education has received $7.75 million from the Freeman Foundation for the Asian Students in American-Higher Education Loan Program (ASIA-HELP).

"We think it is important to assist those Asian students who are being particularly affected by the Asian financial crisis," Houghton Freeman, chairman of the Stowe, Vermont-based foundation, said at the launch of the program Tuesday which was also attended by Indonesian Ambassador to the United States Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti.

These loans, to be made available for the coming academic year, will be between $2,000 and $5,000 to cover some of the students' financial needs. They will be for one year only, but students can reapply for a second year.

They will be offered through colleges that have a sizable number of students from the four Asian countries: South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Students already enrolled for bachelors or masters degrees, with a minimum of a 3.0 grade point average, will qualify.

The governments of these four countries can also nominate 50 students per year to receive funding, according to a statement by the U.S. Embassy's Information Service in Jakarta.