UPA making Higher technical education affordable

New Delhi, May 25: Collateral-free loans and hundreds of merit scholarships have been introduced to make higher and technical education affordable, the Human Resource Development Ministry has reminded.

The reminder came yesterday in extracts the Ministry circulated from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Report To The People on two years of United Progressive Alliance government.

The government cited its setting up education cess and Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh to fund elementary-- Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan-- education, reversing a trend of education communalisation, writing a Model bill on right to education, launching nationwide cooked mid-day meal and taking steps to deliver education to the poor and private pre-exam coaching for minorities.

It said as many as 500 annual merit scholarships-- 350 engineering, 150 medicine-- were introduced for students in government and aided colleges participating in nationwide entrance tests.

Banks have waived the need for collateral for student loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh-- up from Rs 4 lakh-- if a ''satisfactory'' guarantee is provided on behalf of the student, the Report said.

It said this has resulted in a subsantial increase in the flow of loans to students.

Tax deduction is now allowed on all interest paid on higher education loan-- not only up to a limit of Rs 40,000.

Information on scholarships, fellowships and educational loan facilities offered in the public and the private sectors is now available on www.educationsupport.nic.in.

As many as 2,000 fellowships are offered annually under a Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme to prepare Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes candidates for selection to academic positions and for doctoral studies.

Under the Private Professional Education Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees) Act, 2005 enacted last year, students of Indian Institutes of Management with gross annual family income up to Rs 200,000 are eligible for full tuition fee waiver.

The government is considering setting up a body for financing higher education through coordination of student loan schemes of several banks, and directly providing loans and scholarships.

To strengthen higher and technical education, the Plan allocation for the University Grants Commission has been doubled from Rs 615 crore to Rs 1270 crore between 2003-04 and 2006-07.

This has meant more money for central universities in the northeast, more state universities assisted, more research infrastructure, more women's hostels and more remedial coaching centres for weaker sections.

The Report cited conversion of Manipur and Allahabad universities into central universities and similar plans for Tripura university and the Arunachal-based Rajiv Gandhi University and setting up a new Central University in Sikkim.

It said the government was initiating the National Institute of Technology Bill, 2006 in Parliament to help the National Institutes of Technology become centres of excellence, boost post-graduate education and research.

It said new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research ''have been approved'' and a special Re 100 crore grant sanctioned to the Indian Institute of Science to upgrade its infrastructure.

The Report cited ''restoration of the power of the IIMs to decide on their fee structure'' among its efforts to ensure autonomy of educational institutions. It also listed: -- Financial contributions need not be routed through the Bharat Shiksha Kosh; -- Draft Model University Act to standardise governance across universities withdrawn; -- Having a panel of the Central Advisory Board of Education suggest steps to enhance the autonomy of higher education institutions; -- Withdrawal of orders requiring universities to seek prior approval for entering into MoU with foreign institutions for research collaboration; -- Restoring Block Grants to institutions to restore financial autonomy; -- Making the participation of universities in nationwide engineering entrance examination optional.

It also cited accrediting agencies such as the UGC or the National Assessment and Accreditation Council going online to make interaction simple, transparent and hassle-free.

UNI