Controversy erupts after bank publicly shames student debtors

A bank in China's southeast Jiangxi province recently published a notice of 141 students who have taken loans, media reported on Saturday.

The move has aroused heated discussion online with internet users discussing whether the bank was right to publish the students' information including their names, schools, as well as overdue amounts and addresses, since the lowest overdue amount was 3.47 yuan ($ 0.49).

The Jiangxi Pingxiang Rural Commercial Bank issued a notice on Aug 15 through its WeChat account saying that when the students graduate and step into the society, they should not forget the student loans that once helped them, according to National Business Daily.

"When you graduate, you will no longer enjoy the government subsidy policy after September 1 of your graduate year," the notice said. "Please pay the loan interest on time each year on Dec 21 and pay back the loan in time."

The largest amount that students owed to the bank was 11, 890 yuan.

The bank warned students against becoming delinquent, adding that when the loans are overdue, the records are added to personal credit record, and that affects their personal credit score with the information retained for at least five years.

If the overdue debts are big, the students will not be able to take the high-speed railways and airplanes, the notice added.

A netizen named Tutu said making the students' address public is a breach of privacy by the bank and questioned its legality.

While a netizen named Summer agreed with the bank, saying that the students loans are to help students and not to let them take advantage of it.

"The delinquent debtors should be added to the black list," the netizen said.

A few years ago, the student loans hit the headlines. According to Xinhua News Agency, by the end of 2012, the default amount of national student loans in Guizhou province reached 6. 28 million yuan and the overdue default rate hit 29. 84 percent.