Professor and Head, Department of Economics, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur. Email: geethselva@gmail.com
This is an improved and revised version of the paper which appeared in Journal of Social Sciences, 2016, 12 (4): pp.182–200. http://thescipub.com/PDF/jssp.2016.182.200.pdf
Financing higher education through education loans has been on the rise. The present paper attempts to analyse the driving forces behind this development. These forces are-enrolment growth, an expanding private sector and the increasing cost of higher education, willingness to pay and increasing earning premium of higher education, increasing demand for education credit and a wider acceptability of loan culture. The paper also examines the various distortions that are being created in the debate around student loans. Is the access to student loans leads to progressive or regressive distribution in higher education? Does it affect the demand for higher education of weaker sections? Does it benefit the rural and urban populations; boys and girls; and all caste groups equally? What is the relationship between course structure and loan size? What is the structure of interest rates and loan size? What is the link between repayment and employment opportunities? What are the issues of recovery and default rates?
Cost of higher education, returns to education, education loans, disparity
