Pinarayi Vijayan announces scheme relief for education loan payers

A state-level bankers committee had estimated an amount of Rs.900 crore as the burden under the scheme It is not a loan waiver programme, but a scheme to help repayment of education loan

The scheme is to provide relief to debt-ridden families, who had taken education loans for their wards, State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said while making a statement under Rule 300 in the Assembly.

Giving details about the scheme, Vijayan said, "It is not a loan waiver programme, but a scheme to help repayment of education loan." It would have retrospective effect from April 2016 to loans taken up to Rs 9 lakh, he said.

A state-level bankers committee had estimated an amount of Rs.900 crore as the burden under the scheme, the Chief Minister said. The new scheme was announced at a special session held at the Old Assembly hall in the Secretariat complex here to mark the 60th anniversary of the first sitting of the first Legislative Assembly.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala wanted consensus among all on development matters.    Former Chief Ministers V S Achuthanandan and Oommen Chandy and the lone BJP member O Rajagopal were among those who spoke.

The session also witnessed the introduction of a bill by Education Minister C Raveendranath to make teaching of Malayalam compulsory in all educational institutions in the state. The Malayalam Language (Compulsory Language) Bill, 2017 envisages to make teaching Malayalam in all government, aided, unaided, self-financing educational institutions and also CBSE, ICSE and other Boards.