No loans for offbeat studies

BANGALORE: Shobhana Jayashankar loved pets so much that one day, she decided to drop other plans in life and start a career in what she loved best. Pet grooming was unheard of then. Shobhana wanted to take a course abroad, a move that could have cost her Rs 5-10 lakh.
However, she had to ultimately settle down to working at a pet salon in Mumbai to learn the ropes."There are pet grooming classes in the US, UK, Thailand, Singapore and other places. Each, depending on the duration of the course, can cost between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. I couldn't go because no bank was willing to give me a loan," she said.
The lack of such education loans is dashing the hopes of many who are interested in taking the less-trodden path. No bank recognizes these courses as professional. The grant of loans is restricted to MBA, engineering, medicine and other mainstream courses.
For those who choose off-beat courses, the burden of self-financing education or interning somewhere to learn on the job only adds to the problem. Besides, there is parental pressure to take up mainstream jobs.
Razak S wanted to be a hair stylist for long. "My family couldn't understand why I wanted to be a barber when I could do other things. There are great colleges abroad where you can learn the art but I could not afford them. Neither was I eligible for loans," he said. He now works with a hair salon chain to learn and eventually start on his own.
The restriction extends to hair styling, being a DJ, bartending and other courses that are deemed non-professional, though they are known for handsome six-figure salaries.
Banks, on their part, say loans are given only for professional courses and programmes recognized by the government. Students say with reputed colleges being out of reach for most, they are forced to either study at lesser known ones or work as assistants for too long.