RBI Governor to students: Beware of expensive schools giving ‘useless degrees’

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has a word of caution for the students on education loans: Don’t fall prey to ‘unscrupulous schools’ if they leave you with high debt and “useless degrees”.
Speaking at the convocation at Shiv Nadar University in Noida on Saturday, the RBI governor observed that education at high quality research universities will remain expensive in near future, while pressing the need for efforts to be made to make degrees affordable to all deserving students.
One part of the solution is student loans, he said, adding “we have to be careful that student loans are repaid in full by those who have the means, while they are forgiven in part for those who fall on bad times, or those who take low paying public service jobs”.
Pointing out that private education across the world is expensive and is getting more expensive all the time, Rajan said, “We also should make sure that unscrupulous schools do not prey on uninformed students, leaving them with high debt and useless degrees.”

Beginning his address in a lighter vein, Rajan said he embarks on this talk comforted by the knowledge that the “bar for convocation speeches is low”.
“If you even remember a word I say a few years from now, I will have surpassed the average convocation speaker most people don’t remember who spoke at their convocation, let alone what they said.”
Rajan, a globally known economist, emphasised that free market is not fair saying even well-run market economies seem to be favouring those who already have plenty.
“In part, this is because skills and capabilities have become much more important in well-paid jobs, and those born in good circumstances have a much better chance at acquiring these,” he said.