Thousands of people who thought they had been given $4,000 a year from the federal government in exchange for promising their services to high-need classrooms now find they owe the government money.

Many teachers have had federal grants taken away and turned into loans, often for paperwork errors, according to a government report whose contents were first revealed by NPR on Wednesday.

The fund, known as the TEACH Grant, gives college students preparing to become teachers up to $4,000 each academic year. In exchange for the money, the students must agree to teach in a high-needs field for at least four years within an eight-year period.

After leaving their training programs, they must certify each year that they are either currently teaching or intend to teach. But for recipients who don’t meet the teaching requirements — or don’t inform the federal government of their plans — the grants become loans.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.