The appeal of education in India continues to attract students from various backgrounds and walks of life. With the emergence of the competitive job market, it is seen that more and more students are moving away from vanilla courses. There is a high demand for professional courses which can provide a job opportunity to the students once they pass out. While most of the students are opting for the professionally oriented courses, there is an increased demand for quality tertiary education which can provide weight-age to the resume and good career prospects. Management education is one such field that gives the students an opportunity to make a lucrative career. The management education can be pursued through courses such as MBA/PGDM/PGPM from a business school. The top B schools in India have been known for the excellent quality of education throughout the world. The alumni of these schools can secure very lucrative salary packages and most boast of a 100% placement among its students. The admission in the top business schools in India such as ICFAI Business School is granted through extremely competitive entrance examinations such as IBSAT, CAT, GMAT, NMAT by GMAC.

The ultra-competitive environment, placement track record and crazy high starting salaries may define the B schools today, but there is another aspect of business school which the students often tend to overlook. It is the B-school’s fee, which may be a big deciding factor in choosing a business school where you would like to complete your management education. The total fees of most management courses fall within the range of 5 to 20 lakhs. This is a steep amount and there are many students who may not have this amount ready at the time of attempting the entrance examination for the business school of their choice. The money though should not stop a student from going ahead since it is an investment that they make in themselves and which can pay itself back manifold over the course of their career. To fund their management education the students can take several paths.

Education loans

• An education loan has been traditionally taken from a public sector bank in India once the student has proof of having secured an admission; however, private banks and creditors are also coming up with loan offers.
• The proof of admission comes through after the student has cleared the entrance test, group discussions and personal interview rounds.
• The students should plan for their loan in advance and not at the last moment to avoid missing out on the admission due to delays, complications or any such unfavorable circumstance.
• Many management institutes have tie ups with banks, which can approach the student with the loan offer; however, the students are free to take up loan from any financial institution they see fit.
• Many banks offer the students to pay the other fees such as accommodation, library, travel, laptop, and other expenses apart from the tuition fees.
• A lesser amount of loan gets easily sanctioned while a loan above 15 lakhs takes time and more approvals from the bank in getting sanctioned.

Repayment of a loan

• To repay a bank loan, one must complete the course within the stipulated period. Once the course has been finished, the installments for loan begin.
• The repayment of loan usually starts after 6 months on the student securing a job or one year of completion of the course.
• The loan repayment period is usually set to 5 to 7 years and the student must pay back the entire amount within this time.
• An extension on loan repayment period can be granted by the bank; however, it is expected from the borrower that they would apply for the extension as early as possible.
• The borrowers are also offered relaxation in income tax in the period when they are paying off the interest on the bank loan.

Before taking a bank loan

• Before one takes a bank loan, the students must research and find out a bank that would offer the necessary course fee amount and at a reasonable interest rates.
• The students must also understand the fee structure of the B-school so that if required they can understand which parts of the fees can be covered under the bank loan.
• The students can also calculate the amount and number of installments that they plan to pay and how long would it take for the full loan amount to be paid back.
• The students must also keep a realistic idea of the job market and manage the risk of not getting as high a package as earlier expected.

Many business schools provide a great value in return of the fees that they charge and if a student clears the entrance examination and secures admission, they should give it a serious thought. The starting packages of the B schools in India mostly make up for the reasonable fees that they charge. ICFAI Business School, for example has a course fees of 14.04 lakhs; however, has the highest CTC for the 2018 batch is going up to 13 lakhs per annum (national) and 22.36 lakhs per annum (international). This makes it reasonable for the student to pay back the loan amount without any difficulty in a few years. The management education though may be comparatively expensive than other postgraduate course but has a great future prospect because of high placement records and robust starting packages.