You still remember Juhi Sharma, don’t you? The aspiring filmmaker who was abused online while trying to crowdfund her education.
The film enthusiast who got accepted for a three-year Masters programme in Directing at the Brooklyn College in New York ran an online campaign to raise funds for her course but instead was bullied online. The storm has calmed down now and Juhi managed to raise $20,000. But did you wonder why she even ran a crowdfunding campaign in the first place? Because four banks rejected her student loan application back to back!
“I approached four banks in Chennai for a student loan. I felt dejected by their attitude. What would a student do if her parents aren’t rich enough to support their education,” asks Juhi. Of the four banks, ICICI never replied to her application. Andhra bank officials bluntly told her that Direction isn’t something that people study professionally and they can’t fund anyone studying this course. The Federal Bank said they don’t provide student loans and asked her to apply for a personal loan and submit a collateral.
HDFC, on the other hand, accepted her application and she had a loan manager talk to her. At a time when all seemed to go well, she gets a message from the server saying that her application was rejected as the course isn’t on their list and the bank doubts her capability to pay back the money. “I have an excellent credit score. I’m prompt in paying all my bills. On what basis are they saying that I won’t pay back my loan?” asks an angry Juhi. She raised a part of her expenses through crowdfunding and is trying for a loan from SBI right now. Juhi’s case isn’t isolated. She recalls the case of a friend who couldn’t find loans to fund his MA in Peace Studies.
Juhi Sharma, Aspiring filmmaker
Another similar case is Ravi Iyer from Chennai who’d been trying to find loans for his Masters in Sports Management. He was rejected by SBI and UCO, both the banks that he approached. Again his course wasn’t listed with the banks. “Honestly, I’d have been surprised if I actually got the loan,” he says. “But SBI’s rejection was a shocker to me too. They are otherwise people friendly."
So what, are our banks just not willing to give loans to students who don't choose to study mainstream subjects? It is bad enough that parents and society look down upon these choices and in many instances, parents refuse to fund these streams of study because they think it is worthless. The only hope is in banks but it seems that they have shut their doors too.
The banks have a list of recognised universities and if your institute figures on this list then you can apply for the loan. So that is the only criteria, right? So, how should it matter what a loan applicant is studying? Well, it does matter quite a bit, senior bank officials say.
"When a bank gives out a loan they have to make sure that they get the money back. That is the basis on which they grant loans, they have to look at whether the candidate is likely to get a job and be able to make monthly instalments. Either that or they have to have enough collateral to assure the bank that they will be able to pay back. It might seem like a biased or unfair decision but the truth is filmmakers don't have a steady job, so how will we know that the money is going to come every month and on time?" said a senior bank official from a national bank. He also added that banks are usually liberal when it comes to education loans up to Rs 20 lacs, but when it is above 20 lacs, banks often give more preference to medicine, engineering and management.
Senior Bank Official
"Of course, even if the applicant is going to study engineering, it is not assured that they will get a job especially in this day and age but there is still a higher chance of them getting a job that pays enough for correct instalments," he explained.
Education consultants also agree that students who approach them about loans for certain non-mainstream courses have a tough time, "I consult for MBBS students so they don't have a problem but yes, courses like filmmaking, students do complain about having trouble with the loan application. The well-to-do students still manage but otherwise, it's true that banks don't give out loans so easily for such courses without a strong collateral. Their main concern is guaranteed a return on investment, so there's not much anyone can do. It's just the way it is," said Srinivas Venkateshwaran, a director of a consultancy in Chennai.
Srinivas Venkateshwaran, Director (Education Consultancy)
However, in some instances, students do get their loans approved, a person who had commented on Juhi's post and had applied for a similar course had claimed that they had got the loan with no hassle. Another education consultant, Aparna A also said that she had recently had a student who had gotten her loan approval for a filmmaking in the UK, "She had no issues with the loan but I guess these are exceptions."
Applying for a loan seems to be as demanding as a job interview, it all comes down to convincing the loan manager that they have all the capacity and the talent to ensure that the money finds its way back into the bank.
