Edu LOS, LMS - Superior & Smarter

In a joint conversation with Prashant Bhonsle, Founder, and CEO, Kuhoo Fintech & Brajesh Mishra, COO, Co-Founder, Varthana shares the details about the education loan scenario in India:

Ravi: What changes in education preferences have you seen in recent times? How has covid-19 impacted the demand for new educational loans?

Prashant Bhonsle: The student loan sector has been left relatively unscathed by the pandemic. Covid-19 has had the opposite effect on the segment. With the layoffs that characterize every industry, students became more concerned with upskilling opportunities and getting a comprehensive education. Many have to rely on student loans to finance this ambition. Therefore, there has been an accretive demand for student loans despite the pandemic.

Brajesh Mishra: Offline education had come to a virtual standstill during covid and there was a full diversion of all courses to online courses. However, post the lockdown being lifted, courses that are effective only in the physical environment have staged a dramatic comeback. If we look at India's demographics and SEC profiles, the bulk of the population is in the lower and lower-middle-income segments. Most of the students from such families are pursuing courses that can provide jobs immediately. Accordingly, we are seeing an increase in demand for such courses.

Demand for loans during the lockdown had come to a virtual standstill. We are now seeing a rapid increase in demand from across the country for all kinds of loans online courses focused mainly on IT as well as courses that require physical classroom training like hospitality, aviation, health-related courses, etc. In the lower-income segments, job-linked courses continue to be the most preferred courses.

Which segments of the student loan business are most impacted?