PMK founder S. Ramadoss on Wednesday asserted that OBC, SC and ST students eligible for reservation should not be discriminated against when availing of education loans for higher education by banks.
In a statement, Ramadoss said that data released by the Centre has revealed that around 67% of loans have been disbursed to general category students and only 33% have been given to students in the reserved category.
“Out of the ₹13, 797 crore loan distributed to ₹4.10 lakh students under the guaranteed educational loan scheme announced by the government in 2015. Of this, 2.75 lakh students in general category have been beneficiaries. They have received close to ₹9,730 crore. While the rest of the money has been given to OBC (23% of the loan), SC (7%) and ST (3%),” he said.
The Hindu had in a report published on Monday highlighted this issue.
While he pointed out the General Category might also have reserved category students, he only took exception to OBC, SC and ST students being discriminated against. “The banks seem to have developed a wrong notion that students in the reserved category who pursue higher studies might not be able to get a job,” he said.
Ramadoss urged the Centre to intervene in this matter and resolve the issues to ensure that reserved category students are not discriminated against by the banks
