July 16: Bengal failed to cash in on a central scheme that offers a temporary interest moratorium on higher education loans because of the then Left government’s delay in designating officials to certify the income proofs of applicants.

The Union human resource development ministry had launched the scheme in 2009 to assist students whose parents earn less than Rs 4.5 lakh a year. The students can get the loans at subsidised rates from the scheduled member banks of the Indian Banks Association.

The state governments designate district- and block-level officials to vet the papers that applicants furnish as proof of family income. In the last academic session, 12 states and Union territories availed themselves of the scheme. They designated block-level tehsildars to carry out the job.

The Centre bears the interest on the study loans during the student’s course period, and a year after its completion or six months from the date of joining a job, whichever is earlier. After the completion of the moratorium period, the scheme beneficiary has to return the principal along with the interest that would accrue over the period in which he pays back the loan.

An HRD ministry official said: “Despite repeated reminders, few states, including Bengal, did not designate any authority to certify the parental income of the applicants.”

Explaining why the Bengal government had failed to designate officials, a senior finance department official said: “In its last two years, the Left government had gone into a limbo because of the drubbing in successive elections. Things moved at snail’s pace and the top leadership appeared to have become demoralised.”

The official said that in December last year, the state finance ministry passed an order so that the students could avail themselves of the scheme. Block development officers had been designated as the certifying authority. “We have to check with the Centre to find out what happened after that. The state finance department had done what it was supposed to do,” the official said.

“We are trying to trace the order,” said Satish Tiwary, principal secretary, higher education.

The Union government paid Rs 203 crore towards the interest subsidy on the education loans, given to 3.7 lakh students across India, for the 2010-11 session.

Bengal is also lagging behind in taking grants under another central scheme that aims at setting up 374 model degree colleges in the country. The HRD ministry provides one-third of the funds for setting up the colleges in 374 educationally backward districts where the enrolment rate in higher education is less than the national average.

By the first week of June this year, Bengal had submitted proposals for only three colleges although it is entitled to 17.