Representative image showing a classroom
Credit: Reuters Photo
Every year, meritorious students from economically backward families try to find philanthropists or donors willing to fund their studies. Many give up their hard-earned seats and settle for lesser courses or institutions because they have no collateral or guarantor to help them secure loans. Many others, particularly from rural backgrounds, cannot reach out to funders in the limited time available after the declaration of results. Some poor students do not even register for the competitive exams, knowing they cannot pay the fees even if they are selected.
This is set to change now. Under the National Education Policy 2020, a scheme known as PM Vidyalaxmi has been announced, with various scholarships and low-interest loans available to students who qualify for admission in any of the 860 most reputed institutions in the country. This includes government and private Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in various fields.
Preference will be given to those taking admission to government colleges, and those opting for technical/ professional courses such as engineering, management, architecture, pharmacy, medical, law, dental, agriculture, etc. and National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)-ranked institutions.
The scheme provides collateral-free, guarantor-free loans from banks and financial institutions to cover the total tuition fees and other expenses related to the course. Over 22 lakh students are expected to benefit from this.
There are different schemes for students whose family income is less than Rs 4.5 lakh per annum and those whose income is less than Rs 8 lakh per annum. The government provides the necessary guarantee to the financial institutions providing the loans. The loans go up to Rs 10 lakhs per candidate.
The Department of Higher Education will have a unified portal on which students can apply for education loans and interest subventions through a simplified application process to be used by all banks. Interest subvention payments will be made through E-Vouchers and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets.
If this scheme takes off, many poor students will be motivated to prepare for and appear in competitive exams for the top institutions offering the best courses.
Internships
Sometimes, students who graduate after years of hard work and are financially not well off find it difficult to get suitable jobs and have to settle for work that is either not in their domain or is not well paying. The government has rolled out a PM Internship scheme for such graduates. Interns selected under this scheme will receive a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000.
Of this amount, Rs 500 will be provided by the host company through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, while the government will fund the remaining Rs 4,500. This stipend helps alleviate financial barriers, allowing young individuals to focus on gaining valuable work experience. Many reputed private and public sector companies have signed on to provide such internships, giving fresh graduates a one-year head start.
Private scholarships
Following these government initiatives, some private players have also decided to provide opportunities to deserving candidates. For those wishing to go abroad after their graduation and acquire higher qualifications, the Buddy4Study Education Loan Programme, in partnership with multiple education loan providers (banks and NBFCs), offers financial support to aspiring students once they secure admission into higher educational institutions located in India and abroad.
Under the programme, students from families with limited annual family income are offered collateral-free education loans up to Rs 40 lakh to pursue their higher studies at an institution of their choice. Customised repayment plans and flexible tenures are available.
Other organisations offering scholarships include SBI Foundation (SBIF Asha Scholarship), Suzlon (Shri Tulsi Tanti Scholarship), Adani Gyan Jyoti, HDFC Bank (Parivartan), Kotak Kanya Scholarship, Swami Dayanand Education Foundation (SDEF Smt. Shyam Lata Garg India Scholarships), Infosys Foundation STEM Stars Scholarship Program, Karur Vysya Bank (KVB Scholarship Program), and many others which most students are not aware of.
Since coaching institutes give extensive publicity to the candidates trained by them and have notched high ranks in entrance exams, not many know that there are bright students who study without coaching and yet manage to crack the competitive exams. Such loans and scholarships will help them.