Higher Education Minister Announces District Education Loan Facilitation Officers for Engineering, Arts Students

PRESS RELEASE Collateral-free education loans for Engineering, Medical, Arts and Science college students to be facilitated speedily through District-level Educational Loan Facilitation Officers – Announcement by the Hon'ble Minister for Higher Education, Thiru Se. Viswanathan. Collateral-free education loans for students of Engineering, Medical, Arts and Science colleges will be provided speedily through District-level Educational Loan Facilitation Officers, said the Hon'ble Minister for Higher Education, Thiru Se. Viswanathan, at a press meet. Speaking to reporters on this, the Hon'ble Minister for Higher Education stated: At the Higher Education Department review meeting held on 06.07.2026 under the chairmanship of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in order to further increase enrolment of students in Engineering, Medical, Arts and Science colleges and to ensure that no student is forced to discontinue higher education for financial reasons, the Hon'ble Chief Minister directed that measures to provide Collateral-Free Education Loans to eligible students be expedited. Pursuant to this, in order to effectively implement the provision of education loans across the State, one Facilitation Officer at the rank of Assistant Professor has been appointed for every district. A dedicated mobile number has been provided for each Facilitation Officer for this service. These Facilitation Officers will provide students admitted to Engineering, Medical, Arts and Science colleges with the necessary guidance and assistance to obtain education loans. Training on the procedures for obtaining bank loans has been provided to the Facilitation Officers by senior officials of leading banks. Students wishing to avail education loans may contact these Facilitation Officers, who will provide all details regarding education loans and will also liaise with the District Lead Bank Manager, thereby acting as a bridge connecting students and banks. Further, this Facilitation Officer will work in coordination with the Nodal Officer already functioning in the control room at the District Collectorate, which serves as the guidance and assistance centre for student admissions in colleges. Information on education loans and bank details gathered by the Facilitation Officer in each district will be regularly reported to the District Collector. The District Collector will periodically hold review meetings with the District Co-ordinators of all banks, the education loan Facilitation Officers and the Nodal Officers, and take all necessary steps to ensure that education loans are provided to students easily and speedily on a bank-wise basis. The District Collector will also review, at these meetings, the number of students who have applied for education loans college-wise and bank-wise, details of loans disbursed by banks, and the steps to be taken for immediate disbursal of loans against pending applications. Through this initiative of the Government led by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru C. Joseph Vijay, eligible students of Engineering, Medical, Arts and Science colleges will be able to easily obtain education loans and continue their education without their higher education being affected by financial constraints, while enrolment in higher education will also increase further. Thus stated the Hon'ble Minister for Higher Education. On this occasion, the Commissioner of Collegiate Education, Thiru P. Ponniah, IAS, and the Director of Technical Education, Thiru P. Rathinasamy, IAS, were present. ************* Issued By: - DIPR, Secretariat, Chennai – 9