A Parliamentary committee has flagged a troubling trend in Indian education — the number of students who can receive education loans has reduced significantly, even though the cost of higher education has increased.

These findings, which were revealed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, indicate that the number of active student loan accounts in India dropped from 23.36 lakh in 2014 to 20.63 lakh in 2025, IndiaTV reports.

At the same time, the total outstanding credit under education loans soared from Rs 52,327 crore in 2014 to Rs 1,37,474 crore in 2025. These findings show that student loan beneficiaries are borrowing larger amounts, indicating rising tuition and associated costs.

The Standing Committee, headed by Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Digvijay Singh, expressed concern that this threatens equitable access to higher education, particularly for underprivileged and rural students.

“The Committee expresses its concerns over these figures since it suggests that the accessibility of educational loans is declining over time, even as educational costs have risen rapidly," the panel observed.

Another concern raised by the committee was that the majority of these students were unaware of the government's education loan schemes, despite repeated initiatives to promote the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme.

According to the Committee, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra account for the bulk of borrowers, showing gaps in the implementation of the PM Vidyalaxmi and other education loan schemes. “There is a dire need to make efforts to raise awareness across States,” it said in its report.

Under the PM Vidyalaxmi scheme, 55,887 education loan applications were received, with a total sanctioned sum of Rs 4,427 crore.