New Delhi, July 15: The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has forced educational institutes to conduct online classes where students can continue learning from home. To help students pursue online education amid the COVID-19 pandemic, state-owned banks are considering offering loans to students for studying from home. According to a report by Times of India, certain changes could be made to existing rules for education loans. The Era of Online Classes: A Struggle For Kindergarten Kids, Parents And Teachers.

Banks may tweak existing higher education loans for online classes being held by colleges and universities. A proper set of rules could arrive once educational institutions formulate new fee structures for the courses which are now set to be held online. "With a lot of talk around shifting to digital, we have to frame education loan policies for the same," M Aruna, Deputy General Manager of Indian Bank, was quoted as saying. Hackers Breach Online Class in Kolkata, Threaten Girl Students With Rape And Murder.

Banks anticipate that fee for online classes would be lower than regular classes as there will be no practical or exam charges. "So, we are yet to know how the fee structure would change (i.e) will be reduced. The information on change in fee structure has to be produced by the accredited colleges," S Kanimozhi, Deputy General Manager of Canara Bank, said. Some institutes have tied up with banks.

For example, IIT-Madras has introduced a full-time online course in Programming and Data Science, and held talks with the State Bank of India. "We have engaged in informal discussion with the SBI which has its branch on our campus. Once the admission begins, we will provide the course structure to the lender. We have received a positive response from the bank so far," said professor Andrew Thangaraj, Coordinator, NPTEL-IIT Madras.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 15, 2020 08:36 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).