Bihar Extends Student Credit Card Scheme by Five Years, Sanctions Rs 950 Crore

The Bihar government has decided to extend its Student Credit Card Scheme for another five years, ensuring continued financial support for students pursuing higher education. The scheme, which provides education loans of up to Rs 4 lakh, will now remain in effect until the financial year 2030-31.

For the current financial year, the state cabinet has approved Rs 950 crore to fund these loans. Officials said the extension comes with a new framework designed to make the scheme more comprehensive, accessible, and financially sustainable.

So far, around 4.15 lakh students across Bihar have benefited from the scheme. The latest decision is expected to open doors for many more students to access financial assistance in the coming years.

In a related move, the cabinet also approved a proposal to convert 300 standalone private BEd colleges into multidisciplinary degree colleges, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and guidelines from the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). These institutions will be allowed to offer undergraduate courses in arts, science, commerce, and other subjects, alongside their existing BEd programmes, and may also introduce skill-based courses. However, they must follow prescribed norms and obtain approvals from their affiliated universities, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the NCTE, and the state government.

Additionally, the cabinet has changed the admission process for private Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). From now on, 50% of the total sanctioned seats in these institutes will be filled through the Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board, Patna. This move is intended to make ITI admissions more systematic and transparent.