Banks offering special Education Loan Schemes for Women

Harleen Bedi | Shiksha.com

According to the 8th All India Educational Surveys (AIES) 2012 conducted  by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), of the out-of-school children, 62% were girls.  They make up two-thirds of the illiterate population aged between 15 to 24 years.

The report throws light on the fact that while girls attend primary school in roughly equal numbers as boys, the gap widens as they get older. More girts are forced to drop out to help with work at home or get married. The reason behind this may also be the expenses incurred on funding the education of the female child.

To empower women, almost all public and private banks have launched various schemes, giving low interest rates and rebates on education loans. Banks such as HSBC, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Overseas Bank, State Bank of India and Allahabad Bank are offering 0.5% concession to girl students on their education loans as compared to the male students.

Check out Education loan programs of various leading banks in India:

HSBC’s India Student Education Loan Program- Their education loans are “priced at a further discount of 50 BPS for female students in order to promote their education. The bank is happy to offer this as an additional discount on its interest rates to female students.”

Central Bank of India’s Cent Vidyarthi Program- They offer a lower base rate of interest for female students at 1.5%, as compared to 2% for male students.

Corporation Bank’s Corp Vidya Program- The bank offers concession in rate of interest at 50 BPS for girl students.

Overseas Bank’s Vidya Jyoti Program-  The bank allows interest concession at 0.5% on all education loans to girl students for pursuing education in India and Abroad.

State Bank of India’s SBI Student Loan Scheme Program-  Like other banks, SBI also has a lower rate of interest for girl students at 0.5%

Allahabad Bank’s education loan- Rebate of 1% will be allowed under all the slabs for girl students.

The banks are doing this as part of their social corporate responsibility and these initiatives are creating a major impact on the lives of female students all across the country.