During Monday’s regular Cabinet meeting, the Cabinet's ministers approved the Good Students program to provide university students with loans for tuition. The Good Students program aims to enhance public access to higher education; to improve the competency, responsibility and independence of students; and to improve opportunities for students to study by supporting competition among higher education institutions and improving education financing mechanisms. Minister of Education, Culture and Sciences L.Gantumur and Finance Minister B.Bolor have been assigned with starting preparations for implementation of the order to issue student loans starting from May 2, 2016. The Good Student program will be carried out in two phases: short and long-term program enrollment. Pension and salary loans being taken out through commercial banks to cover tuition costs will be automatically transferred to the Good Student program. Loans to cover education costs that have been taken out since January 1, 2016, will have their interest reduced to five percent. Students applying for the short-term loan program should have a GPA higher than 2.5, and must be enrolled in a full-time bachelor's degree program at an accredited university or institute in Mongolia. Students receiving the benefits of the Good Student loan should be a family member of the borrower. Within two weeks of receiving loan funds, the borrower will be required to prove that tuition payment has been made with copies of transaction statements from the borrower and the university. Students enrolled in full-time bachelor’s programs at an accredited university or institute of Mongolia are eligible to apply for the long-term student loan. Freshmen with entry exam scores higher than 650 are eligible to apply for the Good Student program loan. Sophomores applying for the loan must have a GPA of 3.5 or above. The Good Student program’s loan will have an annual  interest rate of five percent and will not require collateral. The loan will have a  four-year repayment term.