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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE | Tuesday, August 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India |
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PU plans to increase govt
share in fees Take
fumbling incompetence in your stride |
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Most banks reluctant to give
loans to students PUBLIC and private sector banks, which are flooded with surplus funds, may claim that they are more than ready to provide educational loans to ‘deserving students’, but parents and students continue to find it difficult to raise loans at reasonable rates of interest. With the increase in the cost of education in the recent past, especially in engineering and medical courses, students of middle class families are finding it difficult to pay the fee and other expenses. Consequently, they are approaching banks to finance their children education. However, most feel frustrated when they realise that despite Central Government and RBI's instruction, the banks are financing only a limited number of students and that too at high rates of interest varying between 10.5 per cent-12.5 per cent. On the other hand, the rate of interest for housing loans has come down to 7.5 per cent. Mr Sukhwinder Singh, a retired police officer, who recently approached a number of banks to get educational loan for his son who had got admission in an engineering college, says: ‘‘The government may claim that up to Rs 4 lakh loan, no security is required. But I was asked to hypothicate my property papers besides FDRs to get the required loan.’’ Mr Subhash Chander, a senior official in the State Bank of Patiala, admits that despite government instructions, the banks are reluctant to advance loans to students without guarantees. However, he says: ‘‘We have financed a number of students even without guarantee. Our criteria is that the student should be a meritorious one and the course should have sufficient demand in the market.’’ He says the banks prefer engineering, medical, computer, hotel management, management and other such courses, which could ensure sufficient salary to the students later. Further, he says, the banks prefer to provide loans in cases where parents are in ‘good’ jobs and have a sound financial track record. Another bank official says: ‘‘Theoretically students studying in arts, commerce and other undergraduate courses are eligible for educational loans. But most banks will offer one or the other excuse to decline them loans.’’ As per the government instructions, the national banks should offer up to Rs 4 lakh without any collateral security and above the sum with security and guarantee. For domestic courses, one can raise up to Rs 7.5 lakh and for foreign degrees up to Rs 15 lakh. The State Bank of India, the Canara Bank, the ICICI, the HDFC, the Syndicate and the Punjab National Bank are the major banks which offer educational loans. The rate of interest varies from 10.5 per cent 12.5 per cent depending upon the amount and the risk factor.
Bankers claim that one should not be attracted by lower rates of interest. Rather, one should look at the final amount to be paid through equally distributed monthly instalments (EMIs) and the terms and conditions. Some banks calculate the interest on daily reducing basis, and the others on monthly reducing basis. The State Bank of Patiala, says Mr Subhash Chander, offers educational loans up to Rs 4 lakh at 11 per cent annual rate of interest. For loans above Rs 4 lakh and up to Rs 15 lakh, the bank charges 12.5 per cent interest rate. He claims that there are no hidden charges and the interest rate is charged on a daily reduced basis. Further, there is no penalty if the loans are paid before the scheduled period. Mr Barjinder Katyal, an employee working with Markfed, here says: ‘‘I have raised a loan for Rs 4 lakh from the bank for the education of my son who has got admission in the West London College, UK, for a year in computer networking. I have been asked to submit the general power of attorney of my house, besides one lakh FDR as guarantee.’’ He says the bank sanctioned the loan within days once he was able to show the papers confirming the admission. The bank has issued a demand draft for tuition fee and the remaining amount in the form of traveller cheques. Mr R.K. Bajaj, a senior manager with the SBI, claims that there is no scarcity of loans for deserving candidates. But in a number of cases, parents get loans for foreign educational courses though their wards do not complete the education there. He says some of them use ‘sanction letters’ for bank loans to get visa in foreign countries. Once they get the visa, they never turn up for the loan amount. He says for this reason, the bank has begun charging Rs 5,000 as refundable fee at the time of sanctioning the loan. He says the bank gives
discount in interest rates up to one per cent if the loan amount is
paid on schedule. The bank offers educational loan up to Rs 4 lakh at
10.75 per cent and loan above Rs 4 lakh to Rs 15 lakh at 11.75 per
cent interest rate. The SASNagar branch has sanctioned more than 10
cases during the past two months. |
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PU plans to increase govt
share in fees PANJAB University is contemplating increasing the government’s share in the total fee collected from students. The idea forms part of a paper to be presented to a special committee constituted by the university to study the existing fee pattern in the university and affiliated colleges. The university has prepared a draft paper which is based on facts collected from the responses from its affiliated colleges on all sorts of fees and funds charged from students. At least 60 colleges have responded. The committee was constituted following pointers by Mr Ashok Goyal and Mr S.S.Hundal, both Fellows of the university Senate, in the last meeting of the House. It was pointed out that under the existing system, there was a yawning gap in the actual fees being charged by different categories of colleges, government, government-aided and non-aided private colleges. The difference ranged between Rs 6500 as the total annual charges in government colleges to more than Rs 15,000 annually in certain private colleges. The matter figured at the meeting when the university was considering the issue of the massive fee hike announced by the Punjab Government. Mr Goyal said if the government charges were applied in addition to the existing fee, a large number of students would be severely affected. This was evident from the fall in college admissions in various colleges in different districts of the state. The committee under Prof K.N. Pathak, the Vice-Chancellor, comparison, Mr Dilip Singh, DPI (Colleges), Chandigarh, Ms Nisha Sharad, DPI (Punjab), Mr Pawan Bansal, local member of Parliament, Mr Satya Pal Jain, a former MP, Mr Radhey Sham, Prof Charanjit Chawla, Principal P.S.Sangha and Principal Tarsem Bahia. All members are Fellows of the university Senate. The university is also considering the name of Mr N.S.Rattan, Principal Secretary (Education), Punjab. Prof Pathak said the government had a reason in demanding more share in collection from the students because of increased expenditure. Prof Pathak said the fees and funds were collected under three heads — one pertaining to the government share through charges on tuition and the admission fee, second to the university share through examination funds and third to the share of colleges under different heads. The colleges were bound to charge funds under heads approved by the university. Interestingly, the university has learnt of certain charges from students being charged without formal approval. The university will look into the issue. The colleges, on their part, justify these charges, saying it was difficult maintaining routine affairs in the wake of the dwindling government resources. One of the biggest difficulties was in maintaining the required staff strength, a sizeable number of which were not covered under the government grant-in-aid scheme. Prof Pathak said there would be an increase in the tuition and the admission fee. The amount would be disclosed later on careful perusal of the proposed rates by the committee. It is felt that the
government has not spelt out details of reasons for the fee hike.
Representatives from all universities should be called for a
discussion before any decision on the matter, it is felt. |
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Take
fumbling incompetence in your stride THE unbelievable incompetence of your child sometimes may drive you wild. It's time to go to school. He cannot find his pencil box. At school, his teacher complains his desk is a mess. He misplaces his work-sheet. Things keep falling from his desk. He cannot keep his papers in a notebook. Yet, he is not stupid or incapable. He does several things with amazing dexterity. He is intelligent, alert, curious, humorous and attractive. He is strong, agile and well-coordinated. But his school papers are torn, smudged, rumpled even illegible. His teacher complains he is fidgety and distracting. There is reason for concern. Children's fumbling incompetence, say psychologists, is in many ways comparable to the reactions of men who have been under too great a stress for too long. There are but few children who do not feel while at school a certain amount of anxiety, even fear or coercion — tension that most adults would be unable to tolerate. It is a known fact that teachers most often employ fear ("You will be sent to the principal) or anxiety (Do you want to be a butt of jokes?") as instruments of control. Most children are in constant fear of getting in the wrong with the school as this would also entail trouble with the parents. Ridden with anxiety, children dig fox-holes for themselves at school, from which they find difficult to get out. How many of us have had nightmares about school, not having prepared for the dreaded maths exam or coming late to school, or going to a class from which, without any excuse, you have been absent for weeks. This when most of us have left school decades back! If your child exhibits
"fumbling incompetence," there is no point in raising your
voice at him. It will make matters worse. Try to reason out his
anxieties. Help him find a way to handle his tension. Try talking to
the teacher or school counsellor. Do not push him too hard. If you do
so, you may quench his desire for intellectual nourishment. Instead of
helping him gain freedom from fear, you may chain him in fear. |
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