Patna: Chief minister Nitish Kumar launched the online transfer of education loan on Saturday to mark the beginning of the student credit card (SCC) scheme under the aegis of Bihar State Education Finance Corporation (BSEFC). He also distributed symbolical cheques and student credit cards to 10 beneficiary students drawn from different colleges.

Promising full government support to make the scheme successful, Nitish said: "Gross enrolment ratio for higher education in Bihar was just 13 per cent, way below the national average of 24 per cent. We aim to increase it to 29 per cent. We want boys and girls to study further and progress."

"SCC is going to be very useful, as it will provide opportunities to poor students interested in continuing education after Class XII. The government will provide them assistance in the form of loans of up to Rs 4 lakh," Nitish said.

Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, education minister Krishan Nandan Prasad Verma, chief secretary Deepak Kumar, development commissioner Shashi Shekhar Sharma, principal secretary, finance, Sujata Chaturvedi and secretary Rahul Singh were present at the function along with several others.

Previously, the loan disbursal under the state government scheme, which happens to be part of Nitish's "seven resolves for a developed Bihar", was done by public sector banks.

However, the disbursal was pathetically slow and little, forcing the government to establish BSEFC to run the vital scheme that aims at providing up to Rs 4 lakh to Class XII passed students for higher studies and Class X board passed students opting for polytechnic courses at a simple interest of 4 per cent for boys and 1 per cent for girls, physically challenged and transgenders.

Speaking further, the chief minister highlighted the liberality of the welfare scheme for students by saying that the government could also waive off the loan under SCC if somebody is not in a position of repaying it.