Professor Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM Kozhikode

The requirement or procedural aspect of obtaining education loan should be made simpler.
Bring the higher education under priority lending i.e. bank loans to higher educational institutions should be brought under priority sector lending and must be made available only to those accredited by statutory agencies which will ensure quality and timely access of funds.
Studies conducted in different countries (including US) show that current funding for key science, engineering, and social sciences, initiatives contribute to 99% of governmental agencies budget. By increasing the business research funding by government and other sources such as foundations and corporations, doctoral enrollment will increase and will in turn reduce faculty shortage in the long run.
In India, the total incremental education loan disbursements by the entire banking sector for last year was around Rs 8,500 crore, negligible considering the banks' total deposit base. The estimated home loan disbursements in excess of Rs 1, 00,000 crore for the same period. In fact, banks have ‘education loan programmes’ that require collateral and/or guarantee from a well-earning relative and interest servicing during the course. All this means that there is restricted finance available for potential students, even as the education sector itself is becoming diversified and vibrant. Setting up of Education Guarantee fund and setting up an Education Re-finance Corporation will help to solve these issues.

Professor Debashis Chatterjee
Director, IIM Kozhikode
dciimk@gmail.com