Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said that the government was committed to increase the number of students covered under education loans and would ensure that in the next two or three years, no student would have to stop education because of financial constraints.
Speaking after visiting the 'Education Loan Camp' of Canara Bank, where he distributed education loans, he said 175,000 students had received loans amounting to Rs 2,400 crore (Rs 24 billion) in the last fiscal for pursuing higher education.
"We are committed to increase the number of students under education loan year after year," he said. "No student who gets an admission to a professional college or to a recognised college, should say I am sorry, I could not get admitted because I did not have money," Chidambaram said.
The government at the Centre had decided to give a 'tremendous boost and thrust' to education loans soon after it came to power, he said.
Chidambaram also complimented Canara Bank for its achievements in providing education loans, noting that 35,912 students had benefitted from it during 2004-2005.