THE PRICE OF WISDOM: NAVIGATING THE UNSUSTAINABLE TIDE ON INCREASING EDUCATIONAL FEES AND STUDENT DEBT IN INDIA

Abstract

Education has always been revered as an invaluable input for personal and national development. This situation has however drastically altered lately with the rising costs associated with education and the use of loans to finance educational pursuits. This chapter delves into the improvident escalation associated with the cost of higher education in India and its diverse implications. The chapter specifically uses the policy related to education in India and related psychological frameworks to explore the implications associated with the rising costs associated with education and its psychological impacts on the implicated persons. The escalating costs associated with education have resulted in the implicated persons from poor backgrounds seeking loans to fund education or merely halting education. This situation thus continues to shape and influence people from poor backgrounds as they lose stability and social place. This chapter sheds light on the policy frameworks and scholarship programs that have been put forward to reduce the impacts associated with the cost of education. This chapter thus explores the need to make education equitable and psychologically compatible in the context of India.