Education loans worth ₹30.37 cr. disbursed to 275 students at camp - The HinduUpdated - September 22, 2026 12:13 am IST - MADURAIMinister P. Vishwanathan and MP Su. Venkatesan handing over a cheque to student at the bank loan mela in Madurai on Monday. | Photo Credit: G. MOORTHYEmphasising that education was an imperishable asset that no one can steal or destroy, Tamil Nadu Minister for Higher Education P. Viswanathan announced on Monday that steps were under way to ensure hassle-free education loans for all eligible students across every district in the State.The Minister was speaking at a mega district-level education loan special camp held at Lady Doak College. The event was jointly organised by the Madurai district administration and nationalised and private banks.The camp saw the distribution of loan sanction orders worth ₹30.37 crore directly to 275 students.Highlighting the origins of the initiative, Mr. Viswanathan recalled that student education loans were introduced as a revolutionary measure during the 2004–2009 period. He noted that between 2004 and 2014, one-fourth of all educational loans disbursed nationwide went to students in Tamil Nadu.To expand this reach, the Minister proposed that such loan fairs be conducted under the leadership of the District Collector across all 10 Assembly Constituencies within the district. He added that Chief Minister’s office has been actively engaged in streamlining loan disbursements and tuition coverage through banks.Marking its fifth consecutive year, the Madurai district administration has successfully sustained the special loan camp initiative since the 2002–23 academic year.District figures showed a steady growth in financial aid: 2022–2023 - ₹125.98 crore (2,533 students); 2023–2024: ₹213.68 crore (2,614 student); 2024–2025: ₹216.53 crore (2,502 students); 2025–2026: ₹249.35 crore (2,934 students) and 2026–2027 (As of August 18, 2026): ₹106.36 crore (891 students).During Monday’s event, authorities lauded banking partners for bolstering the local economy, with a special recognition given to Canara Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, which included disbursing ₹8.64 lakh in scholarships to 216 rural government school girls last month.Looking ahead, banks have been urged to expedite pending applications from underprivileged students and rally behind the district’s target for the 2026–27 academic year - providing ₹300 crore in education loans to 3,000 students in Madurai.Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan, while speaking, said, “Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay should take steps to provide collateral-free education loans to students willing to pursue their higher education.”Though many political parties would not be willing to announce such an assurance, Mr. Vijay’s announcement in Assembly was laudable and it should be implemented as soon as possible.He said that because private banks have extended minimal loans to students, various government departments should refrain from depositing funds in private institutions. Instead, they should focus on public sector banks, which consistently demonstrate willingness to support student financing.In total, public sector banks sanctioned a total of 256 loans worth ₹28.20 crore and private sector banks sanctioned a total of 19 loans worth ₹2.17 crore.MLAs Kallanai (Madurai North), S.R. Thangapandi (Madurai West), S. Karthikeyan (Madurai East), M.V. Karuppiah (Sholavandan), and M.M. Gopison (Madurai South), Deputy Mayor T. Nagarajan, District Collector Nishant Krishna, Corporation Commissioner Gaurav Kumar, among others were present during the event.Published - September 21, 2026 07:53 pm ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }