Stressed with your kid's school fees? Here's a way out

Most of the states are gradually reopening schools after a gap of 18-19 months. School fees of children is one of the essential expenditures that worried numerous parents during the pandemic. Many parents are facing hardships in paying the fees during the pandemic when jobs were lost, businesses ruined, and wages got slashed. Here is an option that can help a parent cope better with school fees.

EMI option

Education financing platforms pay the full fees to the educational institutions directly and help the parents/students to convert their course fees into smaller, affordable, and convenient installments, usually at zero extra cost.

More and more parents are opting for this option nowadays. This makes it easier for parents to manage the child’s education finances more efficiently without burdening their pockets.

Amount offered

After fulfilling all the criteria, the disbursal takes place. The normal ticket size ranges from Rs 30,000 to Rs 12 lakh and above.

Depending on the size of the payment, they create a customised monthly installment plan whereby parents have multiple monthly installment options to pay the fee, ranging from six to 12 months.

How to avail?

Edu-fintech companies like Financepeer and GrayQuest are offering these EMI options to parents. When a parent applies directly or through the school, these companies have due diligence criteria where the documentation process takes place.

Most of these companies offer loan tenure between six months and 12 months with low interest rate. There are a few documents that are needed for verification. Once this stage is over, the fee is directly given to the school/college.

Generally, the entire process is designed for convenience and ease. Only some basic documents such as Aadhaar card, PAN card and income certificates or pay slips and some other basic documents are needed. There is no laborious paperwork involved and the process can be completed in less than 10 minutes.

Who are eligible?

People of any income bracket can opt for this service to reduce their burden. “People from all income groups avail this facility with the convenience of zero cost instalments and insurance coverage,” said Nilotpal Banerjee, a personal finance expert.

Experts think that education loans are generally for a longer tenure and high amount with high interest rate. But school fee financing via EMI option is flexible and easy to afford. The education loan amount and high-interest rates create a burden for many parents.