Higher Education: Delhi LG Anil Baijal Irked with Kejriwal Government

Lt. Governor (LG) of Delhi Anil Baijal has asked Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia (in Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Delhi Government) to expedite the proposal of Delhi Higher Education & Skill Development Credit Guarantee Fund.

According to an official communique of Wednesday, Lt. Governor had earlier advised to consult the relevant Ministry in Government of India to ensure sustainability of the proposed scheme and its implementation mechanism.

The LG stated that it is unfortunate that his advice to help make this initiative more robust in the interest of students of Delhi was misconstrued as disapproval and this misinformation was spread all over the media.

[ Academic Standards of Schools Deteriorating: Education Minister Manish Sisodia ]

In his letter to Sisodia, Baijal mentioned that in today’s world, higher education is no longer a luxury and it is essential for national, social and economic development.

He stressed that any student loan scheme should meet the twin criteria of being ‘need-based’ and ‘generally available’. But at the same time, he said, the challenges of non availability of loans, high default rate, need for proper due diligence by the banks, etc. also need to be addressed.

[ Poisonous Particles + Noise Nuisance = Death for Delhi ] – Research Report

For the convenience of students, Lt. Governor hoped that the education department should draw plans to link the guarantee scheme with an online portal where the students can get information about the loan schemes. In this regard, the LG suggested that Vidya Lakshmi Portal maintained by National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) could be studied.