Arun Raj (22) Engineering graduate
It is never easy for a student of a self-financing college to get an education loan. It was only the fifth bank I approached that agreed to offer me the amount — Rs 2.4 lakh. The only family asset I have is a piece of land, and I had to provide the property document as security. The papers remain under the custody of the bank.
From next year, I have to start repaying — Rs 6,500 a month, which includes an interest of 25 per cent for the next four years. It has been a year since I graduated but I am yet to find a job. If the market situation persists, I might not even get a job.
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As the only graduate in the family, I handle all the paperwork myself. Bank officials inform me about the updated loan amount only when I go and inquire about it. The pressure to repay is the loan is so high that many of us are willing to take up any job that comes our way — including night shifts in BPOs, marketing jobs and even data entry jobs — even though they pay very less.
(As told to Vasudha Venugopal)