Rejecting a nationalised bank’s contention that only candidates with 60 per cent marks in the qualifying examination are eligible for educational loans, the Madras High Court has directed it to extend financial assistance to an engineering student.
Nationalised banks and other financial institutions should abide by the Union government’s policy for lending educational loans to the weaker sections, a Division Bench of Justices N. Paul Vasanthakumar and M. Sathyanarayanan has said.
While sanctioning loans, the banks should cover the genuine, reasonable and justified educational expenses of applicants and help students and their parents out of the pressing financial crisis, the Bench said.
In 2012, the Indian Overseas Bank branch at Sandaikadaithottam in Tirupur rejected the application by A. Ravi, a parent, for financial assistance. Challenging it, he prayed for a directive to the bank to lend his son Rs.1.88 lakh in educational loan. The bank argued that only those who scored 60 per cent marks and above were eligible.
AppealA single judge allowed the petition because the appellant’s son secured 59 per cent marks and got admission to B.E. Hence, the bank branch manager’s appeal. The Bench said the Union Finance Minister had announced that students admitted under the management quota were eligible for loans, and all banks were directed to adopt the policy. After a review meeting held by the Finance Minister with the chief executives of the public sector banks on September 27, 2012, new guidelines were framed. “Nowhere has it been stated in the guidelines that educational loans could be sanctioned only to those who secured 60 per cent and more,” it said.
In light of the revised policy, the Bench dismissed the appeal.
