After waiving off farm loans to the tune of Rs 43,448 crore, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday announced that his government is considering writing off education loans taken by students from economically backward families.
Currently, the government does not have any information on the number of students with outstanding loans. However, the CMO has directed officials to compile the data. The JD(S)-led coalition government has earlier asked the Social Welfare Department to compile district-wise details of loans taken by the students of the SC/ST communities. But Kumaraswamy told the media at a press conference in the Bangalore press club that the loans will not exclusively be for students of the SC/ST community. “We will not discriminate based on caste or community. It will be for the poor,” he said.
The Chief Minister also announced a series of measures to improve public education in the state. This includes renovation of 2,700 classrooms, 86 labs and 154 toilets in 1,521 schools under an estimated cost of Rs 450 crore. Rs 150 crore has been commissioned for the first phase of the project.
Posted in States
