For a state that has been bemoaning the migration of its student population to foreign countries, the Union Budget proposal to provide financial support to students who avail of education loans up to Rs 10 lakh in domestic institutions has come as good news for Kerala.
However, a few from the education industry are sceptical as to whether the subvention of 3 per cent interest on the loan amount will be an attraction for those who are ready to take loans of more than Rs 25 lakh to go abroad.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Sajith Thomas, an education expert, said, "This will be a great help for the students hailing from middle class and lower middle-class families. One highlight of this is that youth who couldn't think of studying in premier institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and others in the country due to the heavy fee structure can now make use of this facility. NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) will cost you anywhere between Rs 12 to Rs 13 lakh to complete the four-year course."
This has come at a time when banks are showing reluctance to disburse education loans due to poor repayment scenarios, he added.
Former minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan has hailed the budget as a boon for the higher education sector in the state.
"The loan facility will stem student migration," he said. According to Sajith, the move will work in two ways. "First, it will help students stick to India for higher education and it will make institutes in the country attract students by working hard on quality," he said.
However, another expert expressed scepticism.
"The crucial question is how the subvention of 3 per cent on the annual interest on the Rs 10 lakh loan amount is going to work towards attracting a student who is ready to avail of loans of more than Rs 25 lakh to go abroad from higher studies?" asked a top official of a premier university in Kerala.
