Education Views | Insightful Perspectives and Analysis - Edinbox

The cost of higher education has increased exponentially and far outstripped the capacity of the majority of Indian households to afford it from their own savings. An MBA or a postgraduate degree abroad may range from 20 lakh to 40 lakh, and even for top institutions in India, fees are gradually going up. Due to this, education loans are increasingly being used by students to meet the gap. RBI data suggest that the education loan outstanding portfolio reached 1.31 lakh crore in November 2024.

When taking out a loan, students and families usually concentrate on issues that have a direct impact on their future finances, interest rates, processing charges, processing period, and repayment duration. The three-digit credit score, a three-digit value between 300 and 900 that indicates past borrowing history and repayment habits, is usually something that they don't pay attention to. Most banks require a minimum cut-off of 680 for education loan applications, whereas anything above a score of 720 is regarded as a good score and increases the likelihood of smooth approval considerably. As students themselves may not have extensive credit histories, lenders consider primarily the co-applicant's score, typically the parent or guardian.

This score is not computed by banks themselves but by credit bureaus like CIBIL, Experian, Equifax, and CRIF Highmark, who have a thorough record of the borrower's financial conduct. The score is derived on multiple factors: Repayment history, utilization of credit, and credit history age. Briefly, the credit score is a picture of financial discipline.

DETERMINES ELIGIBILITY

The majority of lenders apply a credit score as the initial screening. A high score of over 720 will enhance the possibility of getting the loan sanctioned, but a poor one can result in rejection or lower sanction amount. For example, you might receive only 20 lakh sanctioned when you really need 35 lakh, thus creating a large funding shortage. In contrast, a good score not only opens the door to higher amounts of loans but also provides better conditions.

IMPACTS LOAN TERMS

Impact on interest rates is also considerable. Education loans are normally given by public sector banks at 10–12% per annum for applicants with good credit profiles. Borrowers with lower scores, however, end up going to private lenders or NBFCs, where charges can go up to 13–16% per annum.

Take this case for instance: you borrow an education loan of 30 lakh on a two-year postgraduate course with a complete moratorium and a tenor of 15 years. At a rate of 10%, the overall repayment comes to about 68 lakh. But if the rate goes up to 13%, the repayment comes to around 83 lakh. That 3–4 percentage point differential does not appear enormous on paper but translates to a difference of 15 lakh during the term of the loan. 

INFLUENCE THE SPEED OF LOAN APPROVALS

A good credit score also hastens the process. Students with better credit histories get quicker approvals, smoother loan top-ups during the course, and greater freedom of choice in repayments. Conversely, poor credit means longer delays, more guarantors, and more stringent repayment terms, all stressors in an already trying academic experience.

COLLATERAL VS. NON-COLLATERAL LOANS

For secured education loans, credit score is just one of a number of parameters used. But in non-collateral loans, which are the new rage with students, the credit score becomes determinative. In the absence of security, lenders rely heavily upon the borrower's or co-applicant's creditworthiness.

As Ankit Mehra, the CEO of GyanDhan, says: "A credit score might seem like a mere number, but for students applying for loans, it can determine not only if you are approved, but how economically your education is going to be over the long term."

Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India, marked the 15th anniversary of SWASTIVACHANAM by releasing a Special Cover on Sanskrit Day. The event was organized at the Philatelic Bureau, Sansad Marg Head Post Office, New Delhi.

SWASTIVACHANAM is an organization engaged in Sanskrit journalism activities, Yoga, Ayurveda, Vastu Shastra, Indology, and Indian Knowledge Systems. The event is also the centenary of its visionary founder Late Shri Dinesh Chandra Joshi, a celebrated Sanskrit scholar.

Chief Guest was Vice Chancellor of the Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi, Prof Shrinivasa Varakhedi. He said, "Sanskrit is a language for all, cutting across all boundaries.". The kids associated with it are performing outstandingly well in the areas of academics, innovation, and technology and are turning into true torchbearers and ambassadors of our tradition. SWASTIVACHANAM, over the last fifteen years, has taken excellent initiatives in propagating Sanskrit journalism, Yoga, Ayurveda, Vastu Shastra, Indology, and the Indian Knowledge Systems as a whole. It is also heartening to note that the organisation is celebrating the centenary of its founder, great Sanskrit scholar Late Shri Dinesh Chandra Joshi, by a year's salute to his lifelong commitment to the cause of Sanskrit.

The Special Cover celebrates the dawn of awareness via the seven chakras with the four Mahavakyas of the Vedas as their symbol of Advaita philosophy. Aipan art of Uttarakhand adorns its outer design, as a tribute to the founder's native state.

Prof. Shiv Shankar Mishra, Vice Chancellor, Maharshi Panini Sanskrit Evam Vedic Vishwavidyalaya, Ujjain, was a Guest of Honour. He appreciated the efforts of the organisation in making Indian and Western Sanskrit scholars engage with each other and advance cultural and scriptural traditions.

On behalf of the Department of Posts, Virendra Singh also called upon students to study Sanskrit and spread its knowledge. Trustee Harish Chandra Joshi told that the organisation is also sponsoring the villages for Sanskrit and manuscript conservation. Students, scholars, and postal officials attended the programme.

Chartered Accountant and business entrepreneur Deepak Bhati has expressed major concerns regarding the rapidly escalating expense of private schooling in India, stating that parents now are not saving anymore for dreams but to only pay school fees. In a LinkedIn post, Bhati mentioned that his daughter is just two-and-a-half years old, yet he is already concerned about how much it costs to send her to school. His post has brought forth extensive debate on social media regarding the cost of education in urban India.

'Education today isn't just expensive, it's unaffordable'

“My daughter is just 2.5 years old… and I’m already scared. Not of her going to school. But of the price tag that comes with it,” Bhati wrote. He pointed out that in Tier-1 cities, parents now spend between ₹2.5–3.5 lakh annually per child on school-related expenses, which include fees, books, uniforms, and transport.

Bhati told this amount of expenditure can gobble up 40–50% of a middle-class household's annual earnings. "Not only is education costly now, it's getting out of reach," he said.

To put the enormity of the problem into perspective, he cited instances from around the nation. For the CBSE level, Class 3 charges are already ₹2.1 lakh annually. In Hyderabad, nursery charges alone have hit ₹2.51 lakh every year, or close to ₹21,000 each month.

Parents saving for fees, not aspirations

Bhati’s said: “Parents aren’t saving for dreams anymore. They’re saving for fees.” He explained that the education challenge goes beyond the choice between private and government schools.

In his words, "Admission feels like an auction. Tuition feels like an EMI. And quality still feels like a lottery." 

"Yes, we all want the best for our children. But if knowledge becomes a privilege, not a right – we're not creating a smarter generation. We're creating a divided one," he said.

His remarks identify concerns that high-quality education will increasingly only be available to richer families, with the rest of the population fighting to cover even the most basic education costs. The broadening gap, he said, could eventually result in unequal opportunities.

While increasing online debate, Bhati’s post sparked responses from several professionals and parents on LinkedIn who shared their own experiences. Some agreed that education is becoming the single largest expense in a household budget, while others pointed out how additional costs such as extracurricular activities, digital learning tools, and transport further increase the financial burden.

Numerous commentators concurred with his perception that even if charging hefty fees, the education quality is not always ensured, further frustrating parents.

A mirror of urban realities

The debate reflects a wider pattern in India's urban centers, where middle-class households encounter increased costs of schooling, medicine, and accommodation. Education, traditionally a bridge to upward mobility, is slowly coming to be perceived as an economic battle that decides family priorities.

Bhati’s post, though personal, reflects a common sentiment among parents: that while they want to invest in their children’s future, the growing price tag of school education is forcing them to rethink their financial plans.

At the Guru Tegh Bahadur School in Model Town, the school bell doesn't mark the beginning of a lesson—but the beginning of something revolutionary. Here, classes go beyond four walls, and the syllabus consists of empathy, cooperation, and action in the world outside.

In a subtle yet forceful break from traditional school, the school is creating a learning culture of learning from each other and learning with each other. With its "Learning Buddies" program, high school students take on a mentorship role with lower students—helping them not only academically, but in building confidence and trust. It's a simple strategy that's rewriting the way children think about other children: not as rivals, but as teammates.

But learning does not go out of the door.

Under their "Classroom Without Walls" program, students go to city bazaars and conduct eco-awareness drives among the local people and vendors, convincing them to go green. Posters, street plays, and determination in hand, they're putting theory to practice—learning citizenship the hard way, not in class.

However, teachers are becoming learners too.  From exchanging tips on the latest pedagogical gadgetry to rethinking the art of lesson planning and assist each other in building classrooms that are more interactive and inclusive.

Principal Baljeet Kaur believes this shift is rooted in both vision and investment. “Even with a modest fee structure, we’ve upgraded our labs, introduced AI-powered teaching tools, and created an environment where quality education is not a privilege, but a right,” she says.

This convergence of social outreach, mentorship, and radical pedagogy is making exam-students, yes, but more importantly, future-students. In the midst of a time when rote learning still reigns supreme in most schools, Guru Tegh Bahadur School is different because it's producing critical thinkers and empathetic citizens.

It's evidence that if only schools are courageous enough to think beyond the box, then students become achievers no longer, but game-changers.

On August 25, 2025, at IIT Delhi the 56th Council Meeting of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) was chaired by Union Minister of Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, raising the bar of technical   education and innovation. The resolutions attempted to push ahead Prime Minister Narendra Modi vision of ‘Atmanirbarta se Samridha Bharat’ (a prosperous nation through self-reliance) using IITs as force-multiplier technology, inclusiveness, and building prosperity.

Major Decisions and Directions

Speaking at the event, Dharmendra Pradhan urged IITs to make quantum jumps and transform into drivers of Atmanirbhar and Samriddha Bharat, and he explained that their efforts could profoundly benefit society as a whole. He encouraged IITs to be in the foremost position of producing job creators rather than as job seekers and he pointed out their revolutionary impact in real world problem solving, translation research and in worldwide industry partnerships.

A major aspect was the advocacy of the use of Indian languages in technical education. The Minister particularly requested all IITs to start conducting courses in regional languages in addition to English by intending to reach all students and make IIT education more inclusive and accessible to students across all backgrounds.

Roadmap to the Future

Pradhan announced a 25-year roadmap in this meeting aimed at ensuring that the IITs are future-ready in ways that make them more inclusive and more aligned to the goal of advancement in science and society in India by 2047. The strategy emphasizes the broader accessibility of underrepresented populations, the creation of multidisciplinary teams, the development of international collaborations, and adoption of AI, quantum computing, and clean energy.

The Council decided to redesign Ph.D. programs to increase quality and international relevance, together with faster commercialization of research and better alumni engagement and student mentorship. Particularly, more than 6,000 start-ups, 56 unicorns, and close to 5,000 patents make IITs significant contributors to the national economy and Indian innovation ecosystem. 

Student wellbeing and Inclusion

The aspect of student health and campus wellbeing was highlighted, with the Council sharing the best-practices to adopt student care and support services, annual health check-ups, and healthy campus lifestyles. The minister emphasized the necessity of more caring faculty-student interaction to promote happier and healthier campus climates.

Stakeholder Participation

The meeting included the Union Minister of State for Education and Development of North Eastern Region Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, other senior dignitaries and discussed extending research parks, bringing new national accreditation systems and the feasibility of adjusting current curricula due to the current rapid development of artificial intelligence.

This historical meeting is one step closer to making IIT a more inclusive, innovative, and globally competitive system. Focused on regional languages, quantum leaps in research and innovations, and student support, the decisions of the Council chart the course of how India needs to drive its aspirations into the Amrit kaal and beyond through its premier technical institutes

In a pride moment for Odisha, young Cuttack boy Pooshan Mohapatra has become the all-India topper in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET PG)-2025, result of which was released by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) on Tuesday.

A Kaligali native from Cuttack, the 24-year-old has done his MBBS from SCB medical college and hospital. He achieved a record-breaking 707 out of 800 in the exam, securing rank-1 in his first attempt while taking care of the patients simultaneously.

Addressing the mediapersons, Pooshan explained that he made up his mind to appear for the examination in January this year. "My internship got over in March and I began preparing for the exam at home from April. I had availed the services of an online platform and had done test papers. Although I had done well in the exam, scoring the position of all-India topper was something unexpected for me," he said.

Pooshan feels his diligent work along with fate reaped the prosperity he is experiencing today. The 24-year-old gave credit for his success to the incessant guidance from his older sister throughout his preparation and motivation from parents Jaykrishna Mohapatra and Rachita Mohapatra.

"My older sister who is currently studying PG after finishing MBBS from SCB MCH has inspired me. Apart from that, the humongous amount of support I got from my parents who never pressurized me for anything else, allowed me to give all my attention to my preparation," said Pooshan.

We had left him free to study in his own way since the very start and never pressured him for anything," said Pooshan's father Jaykrishna who runs a printing and publishing company.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi himself met Pooshan and congratulated him on his success. Referring to X, the chief minister said, performing well in a very competitive examination and topping the list is no mean challenge but Pooshan has achieved it. His achievement is an inspiration to the state's youths. The state requires diligent and gifted individuals like him," he added advising those sitting for any exam or interview to believe in themselves and their efforts.

Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan also congratulated Pooshan on the achievement. When asked about his future, Pooshan replied that he wishes to specialise in either medicine or radiology. He also told aspirants to prepare sincerely without worrying much about the ranks.